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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: pitch · lash · wake · wound · stock · hand · prune · squash

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pitch — completely
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hand — help
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stock — goods
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stock — shares
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wake — before a funeral

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