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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. court — of a king
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. court — of law
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. net — for catching
  12. pitch — completely
  13. court — for sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. squash — the sport
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg

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