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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: game · wax · club · stick · bat · pitch · trunk · prune

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pitch — completely
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. club — for golf
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. game — a match
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. club — a group

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