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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: ground · pop · tube · hand · wave · prune · fall · pitch

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — crushed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — to visit
  6. tube — a container
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fall — the season
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pop — music
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pop — soda
  22. ground — a position
  23. pitch — completely
  24. tube — the underground

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