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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: deal · charge · tear · pop · shower · pitch · land · prune

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — to trim
  5. deal — to handle
  6. pitch — completely
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pop — to visit
  9. tear — to rip
  10. charge — in control
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — a country
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pop — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. shower — rain
  20. charge — electricity
  21. land — ground
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. charge — a price

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