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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: net · squash · fall · pitcher · prune · bulb · game · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a match
  4. net — after costs
  5. fall — the season
  6. net — for catching
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fall — to drop
  14. game — wild animals
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — to drop
  17. squash — the sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bulb — for light
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. net — in sport
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. pitcher — a jug

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