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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. prune — to trim
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kid — child
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stem — a stem cell

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