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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: suit · chest · pitch · leaves · prune · roll · clip · trunk

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. roll — a cake
  3. chest — of your body
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. suit — to fit
  6. suit — clothes
  7. chest — a box
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. suit — in cards
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. pitch — completely
  21. clip — to cut
  22. roll — a list
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — of your 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