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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stock · prune · stick · scale · spring · pass · cold

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. scale — in music
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stock — shares
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitch — completely
  14. spring — of water
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. stock — goods
  20. cold — an illness
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — the season
  24. cold — the Cold War

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