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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
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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: cold · arm · can · pitch · field · prune · file · suit

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pitch — completely
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. file — a tool
  10. can — a tin
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. can — to be able to
  18. suit — to fit
  19. can — a tin
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. suit — clothes
  23. suit — in cards
  24. file — a line of people

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