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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: bank · kid · prune · bass · spring · pitch · drill · date

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. drill — army training
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kid — child
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bank — for money
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. spring — the season
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bass — the fish
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — of water
  24. drill — a practice

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