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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.

Make a worksheet

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: court · season · fork · pitcher · ground · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. season — of the year
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. ground — a position
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — for sport
  8. season — in sport
  9. fork — in a road
  10. ground — crushed
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — of law
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug

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