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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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Word bank
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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: clip · game · fork · drill · pitch · mark · branch · straw

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. branch — a division
  9. fork — in a road
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — for paper

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