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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: prune · mouse · net · pitch · racket · rash · tear · field

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rash — a series
  4. net — for catching
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pitch — completely
  10. field — farmland
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. net — in sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. field — for sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. tear — from crying

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