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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. kid — child
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bank — for money
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tube — a container
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the sport
  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