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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: pitcher · key · pitch · deal · root · tear · bound · prune

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. key — for a lock
  9. tear — from crying
  10. deal — to handle
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. root — of a word
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. prune — to trim
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. key — the most important part
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. tear — to rip
  23. key — in music
  24. pitch — completely

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