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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: vault · stand · sharp · hand · content · pitch · march · prune

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. march — music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pitch — completely
  13. vault — a safe
  14. hand — help
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stand — to bear
  17. march — the month
  18. content — the amount
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. hand — in cards
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. march — the month

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