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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 you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. march — the month
  6. pitch — completely
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — final
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hand — in cards
  16. last — to go on
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. chair — a professorship

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