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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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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: content · fall · court · last · pitch · wave · march · prune

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitch — completely
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — happy
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. fall — to drop
  13. march — music
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. court — for sport
  22. last — to go on
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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