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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 120 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: fall · march · prune · stand · cell · net · pitch · tube

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in biology
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. net — after costs
  10. cell — a phone
  11. net — for catching
  12. pitch — completely
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fall — the season
  15. tube — a container
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stand — to bear
  19. net — in sport
  20. march — music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. tube — in a tire

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