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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · wound · bat · present · band · pitch · racket · calf

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. branch — a division
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com