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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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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: shower · wind · pit · pitch · pass · toast · pitcher · prune

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. shower — to wash
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pit — a hole
  18. shower — rain
  19. toast — bread
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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