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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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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: prune · ground · bark · hand · fine · pitcher · band · club

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fine — high quality
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ground — a position
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. club — for golf
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fine — all right

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