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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: last · prune · capital · pitch · lie · pop · pitcher · season

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. last — final
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — of the year
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. capital — money
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. last — finally
  24. pop — soda

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