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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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468
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: tear · capital · pitch · branch · degree · chest · scale · spell

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. scale — size or range
  3. spell — magic
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. branch — a division
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. tear — to rip
  14. capital — a city
  15. pitch — completely
  16. capital — money
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — in music
  20. degree — an amount
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tear — from crying

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