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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: prune · rest · court · fall · deal · pitch · last · plane

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. last — finally
  2. plane — a tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — for sport
  5. last — final
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. last — to go on
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. court — of law
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — of a king
  21. deal — to handle
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitch — completely
  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