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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: game · tube · prune · spring · squash · swing · spell · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. swing — music
  4. spring — of water
  5. pitch — completely
  6. tube — a container
  7. prune — to trim
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. spring — the season
  10. swing — to play on
  11. game — a match
  12. tube — the underground
  13. game — wild animals
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spell — a short time
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. prune — to trim
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — letters
  22. squash — the sport
  23. spell — magic
  24. prune — the fruit

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