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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — to drop
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fall — the season
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chair — a leader
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitch — completely

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