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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: lean · face · club · pitch · branch · object · pit · wound

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. object — to protest
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. face — to confront
  5. lean — thin
  6. club — for dancing
  7. object — an aim
  8. club — for golf
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pit — a hole
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. club — a group
  18. branch — a division
  19. wound — an injury
  20. object — a thing
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pit — in a race
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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