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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: pitch · kid · craft · prune · face · mouse · rest · mate

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. face — to point toward
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. face — to confront
  17. craft — a skill
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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