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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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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: dip · trunk · tear · pitch · prune · game · wake · wound

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. game — a match
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tear — to rip
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. dip — to sink
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — a trail
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. tear — from crying
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. prune — to trim

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