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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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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: prune · swing · pitch · charge · pit · pitcher · field · root

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. prune — to trim
  3. swing — in golf
  4. root — of a plant
  5. swing — music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. charge — electricity
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. root — of a word
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. field — for sport
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pit — in a race
  20. charge — in control
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — completely
  23. prune — to trim
  24. field — a subject

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