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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: wax · pound · coach · net · cell · pitch · prune · bark

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wax — to grow
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. net — for catching
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pound — a weight

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