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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: track · bat · prune · game · fan · bound · pitch · sharp

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bound — obliged
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. game — a match
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bat — the animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bound — tied together
  17. track — a path
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bound — certain
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. track — a song

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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