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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: face · pound · race · sharp · prune · drill · pitch · wake

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. drill — army training
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pound — a weight
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. drill — a practice
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. race — the arms race
  21. face — to confront
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wake — a trail

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