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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: bowl · straw · band · prune · mate · pitch · land · net

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. net — after costs
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitch — completely
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. land — a country
  13. net — for catching
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mate — a partner
  16. band — a music group
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — in sport
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. straw — dry grass

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