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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: drill · prune · key · bat · pitch · stick · net · arm

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. net — after costs
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. key — in music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. net — in sport
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. drill — a practice
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. key — for a lock
  19. drill — army training
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. net — for catching

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