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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — completely
  4. club — a group
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. club — for golf
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ball — a dance
  16. club — for dancing
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. hand — help
  24. trunk — of a car

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