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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: band · net · rash · cue · tube · prune · ground · pitch

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. ground — crushed
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — for catching
  15. tube — a container
  16. net — after costs
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. net — in sport
  21. ground — a position
  22. pitch — completely
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — the earth

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