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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: pit · prune · patient · present · race · pitch · wave · straw

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — completely
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. race — a contest
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. present — there
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. present — a gift
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. present — the time now
  19. pit — in a race
  20. race — humankind
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pit — a hole
  23. prune — to trim
  24. race — the arms race

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