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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 · key · rash · prune · row · pitch · bear · bat

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. key — in music
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bear — the animal
  6. date — the fruit
  7. row — a line
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bear — the animal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rash — a series

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