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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: deal · pitch · bat · patient · prune · arm · wound · cold

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pitch — completely
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. deal — to handle
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cold — not warm
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bat — the animal
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. wound — an injury
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. deal — a big deal

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