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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: deal · bowl · board · pitch · mine · fine · prune · last

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. board — to get on
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. last — finally
  7. mine — for digging
  8. prune — to trim
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. last — final
  12. fine — all right
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. prune — to trim
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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