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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: prune · chest · saw · pitch · mine · current · foot · rush

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. current — happening now
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. current — electric
  9. saw — the tool
  10. foot — a measure
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chest — a box
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rush — hurry
  15. current — of water
  16. chest — of your body
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pitch — completely
  24. foot — 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