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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 · plane · saw · bark · club · capital · rash · pitcher

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rash — hasty
  6. capital — a city
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. saw — the tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — to shout
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. club — for dancing
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rash — a series

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