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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: bat · firm · mate · prune · present · stem · pitch · chest

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bat — the animal
  8. firm — steady
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mate — a partner
  11. present — the time now
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitch — completely
  14. firm — a company
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stem — to come from
  17. firm — decided
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mate — a friend

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