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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: pitch · kid · wind · prune · cell · band · pass · file

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. cell — in biology
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. kid — child
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitch — completely
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. cell — a phone

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