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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 116 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: pitch · prune · game · chair · kid · ruler · row · rest

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chair — a leader
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a line
  10. game — a match
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kid — child
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. rest — a break
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pitch — a sports field

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