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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: pitch · bulb · wax · clip · court · prune · bark · field

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pitch — completely
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wax — to grow
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. court — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — of a king
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — of law
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. field — for sport

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