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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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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: pitch · root · chip · wake · prune · hand · bat · bear

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chip — for betting
  5. hand — help
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. root — the cause
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bear — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pitch — completely
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wake — a trail

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