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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. net — after costs
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitch — completely
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. game — a match
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — in sport
  11. mark — a grade
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. ball — a dance
  15. net — for catching
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ball — a great time
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. mark — a trace
  24. straw — a straw man

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