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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: pitch · present · stick · rush · wound · clip · prune · patient

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. present — there
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wound — an injury
  18. present — the time now
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. present — a gift
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. clip — to cut

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