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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 120 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: key · chest · field · root · pitch · season · kick · branch

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. season — in sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. pitch — completely
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. key — for a lock
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kick — in football
  12. field — a subject
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. field — for sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. root — of a plant
  23. branch — a division
  24. root — of a word

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