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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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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: trunk · tear · pitch · prune · squash · pit · safe · court

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. pitch — completely
  4. squash — the sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. pit — in a race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. court — of a king
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. court — of law
  13. prune — to trim
  14. pit — a hole
  15. prune — to trim
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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