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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: pitch · ground · wound · date · field · squash · prune · mate

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mate — a friend
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. field — for sport
  8. mate — to breed
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pitch — completely
  16. field — farmland
  17. wound — an injury
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ground — a position
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — a subject
  24. prune — to trim

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