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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · suit · patient · prune · land · bat · board · chest

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — to fit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. land — ground
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. board — to get on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. suit — clothes
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — a committee
  12. bat — the animal
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — a country
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pitch — completely
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — to come down
  24. chest — a box

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