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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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468
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: spell · mate · bay · pitch · shower · prune · present · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mate — to breed
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. present — a gift
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. mate — a friend
  11. ground — the earth
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spell — letters
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. spell — magic
  18. shower — rain
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. shower — to wash
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. present — the time now
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. present — there

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