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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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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 · ruler · pitch · fall · court · patient · band · dip

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. band — a music group
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. fall — to drop
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fall — the season
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. band — a ring
  17. dip — to sink
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fall — to drop
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitch — completely

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