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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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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 · bark · land · wound · key · field · stand · spell

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. land — ground
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. bark — to shout
  9. land — a country
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. field — for sport
  13. land — to come down
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. key — in music
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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