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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 120 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: hand · mark · straw · prune · tear · pitch · bound · net

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. hand — help
  8. net — for catching
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — obliged
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. net — after costs
  17. bound — certain
  18. mark — a grade
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitch — completely
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. straw — dry grass

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