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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: content · pitch · arm · cold · prune · season · mark · cue

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cue — for pool
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cue — a signal
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. content — the amount
  22. season — in sport
  23. pitch — completely
  24. season — of the year

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