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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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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: firm · wind · prune · pitch · kid · current · leaves · racket

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — a company
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — moving air
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. pitch — completely
  13. kid — to tease
  14. current — of water
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. current — electric
  22. prune — to trim
  23. current — happening now
  24. racket — a loud noise

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