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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: prune · mate · date · wave · last · game · clip · pitch

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. last — finally
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pitch — completely
  9. mate — a partner
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mate — to breed
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — to go on
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. last — final
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. game — a match
  24. date — on the calendar

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