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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: fall · pitch · cabinet · squash · present · content · bass · prune

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — the season
  7. present — there
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bass — low music
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. squash — to crush

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