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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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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: stick · chair · degree · prune · toast · pound · pitch · hide

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — from a university
  6. toast — bread
  7. pitch — completely
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — an amount
  24. toast — the most admired

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