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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · can · prune · chair · craft · arm · wound · pitch

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitch — completely
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. craft — a skill
  15. field — farmland
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. field — for sport
  20. craft — boats
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wound — an injury
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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