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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: date · pitch · straw · prune · rash · wind · ruler · court

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rash — a series
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. court — for sport
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. date — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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