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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cue — a signal
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — a position
  14. prune — to trim
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cue — a hint
  18. ground — the earth

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