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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: pitch · saw · bass · capital · stock · prune · ruler · band

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. saw — the tool
  9. capital — money
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. saw — the tool
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. bass — the fish
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stock — shares

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