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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: pitch · arm · prune · racket · hand · cell · march · pit

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cell — a phone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a hole
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. march — music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. hand — part of the body

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