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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: date · prune · pitch · hand · mug · toast · stem · sharp

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — in cards
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — bread
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. date — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — to rob
  24. stem — a stem cell

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