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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: bay · rest · bear · pitch · branch · fork · clip · deal

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rest — a break
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fork — in a road
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. clip — a video
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pitch — a sports field

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