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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: drill · stick · fall · pitch · ground · prune · staff · tear

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. ground — the earth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — a stick
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. staff — employees
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ground — a position
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — a practice
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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