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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 120 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
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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: pop · cold · game · nail · pitch · rest · prune · shower

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pop — music
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — not warm
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pop — soda
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. game — a match
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. game — wild animals
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. shower — rain
  24. cold — an illness

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