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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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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 · rock · prune · squash · bat · mouse · kick · wind

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pitch — completely
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. prune — to trim
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rock — music
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kick — in football
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wind — moving air

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