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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: ground · prune · field · rash · wound · rock · key · bark

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — farmland
  6. rock — music
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. key — in music
  12. rash — hasty
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. ground — a position
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. key — the most important part
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rock — a stone

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