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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: temple · hand · pitch · rest · ball · prune · arm · court

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — help
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ball — a dance
  12. court — of a king
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. rest — a break
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. court — for sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. court — of law
  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