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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitch · prune · game · chair · kid · ruler

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chair — a leader
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitch — a sports field

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