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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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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 · land · chip · wax · squash · snap · prune · race

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. land — to come down
  3. race — a contest
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. land — a country
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chip — for betting
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — ground
  14. squash — to crush
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wax — to grow
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. race — humankind
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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