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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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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: season · ball · pitch · tube · swing · prune · clip · charge

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. season — in sport
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — electricity
  7. swing — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. ball — a dance
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pitch — completely
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ball — a great time
  16. swing — in golf
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. charge — in control
  22. tube — a container
  23. prune — to trim
  24. season — of the year

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