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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: lie · band · pitch · race · bore · prune · present · stem

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bore — to tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitch — completely
  5. race — humankind
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. present — a gift
  9. bore — to drill
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. band — a music group
  16. present — there
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — a contest
  20. present — the time now
  21. stem — to come from
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. race — the arms race

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