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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: wake · arm · prune · bark · trunk · vault · pitch · degree

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. vault — a safe
  8. degree — an amount
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wake — a trail
  13. prune — to trim
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. degree — temperature
  23. arm — part of the body
  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