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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: ground · pitch · game · deal · wind · bear · prune · stick

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — wild animals
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. game — a match
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. ground — a position
  24. pitch — a sports field

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