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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 120 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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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: bear · court · pitch · ruler · stem · leaves · prune · ground

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — crushed
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. stem — to come from
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. pitch — completely

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