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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: pitch · wave · kick · field · tear · prune · net · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. cap — a hat
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. net — after costs
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cap — of ice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. kick — in football
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — a subject
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — completely
  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