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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 · prune · degree · kick · pitcher · rule · fall · rest

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. prune — the fruit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rule — a law
  6. fall — the season
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rest — what's left
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pitch — completely
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rule — government
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. kick — in football
  23. fall — to drop
  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