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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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Word bank
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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: content · row · prune · dip · date · pitch · pound · season

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pound — a weight
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. content — happy
  7. date — the fruit
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pitch — completely
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. season — of the year
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. dip — to sink

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