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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 116 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: pitch · coach · ground · stem · prune · press · spell · nail

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitch — completely
  5. spell — magic
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spell — a short time
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spell — letters
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. ground — the earth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. prune — to trim
  23. press — newspapers
  24. nail — on a finger

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