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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: fan · cap · pop · prune · land · mark · pitch · ball

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. land — to come down
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pop — soda
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a dance
  11. land — a country
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. pop — music
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cap — a lid
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitch — completely

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