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

Word bank: tear · pitch · swing · ruler · chest · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. chest — a box
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. pitch — completely
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. chest — of your body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. swing — music

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