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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: clip · suit · pitcher · prune · mouse · pitch · land · rash

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — ground
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. clip — to cut
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — clothes
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — a country
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitch — completely
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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