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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 120 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: track · swing · bat · pitcher · prune · arm · land · fan

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. track — a path
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. land — to come down
  9. track — to keep track
  10. swing — music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. prune — to trim
  16. swing — to play on
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. land — ground
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. land — a country
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. track — a song

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