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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: net · pitch · hand · staff · prune · wave · row · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. staff — employees
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. net — for catching
  12. prune — to trim
  13. staff — employees
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. net — after costs
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. tube — the underground
  19. net — in sport
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pitch — completely
  24. hand — 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