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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: prune · bank · fan · race · band · kick · pitch · pound

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bank — for money
  12. kick — in football
  13. pound — a weight
  14. race — humankind
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bank — for money
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bank — of a river
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a music group
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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