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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: pit · prune · club · wound · coach · track · fork · perch

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pit — a hole
  6. track — a path
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pit — in a race
  9. track — a song
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. track — to keep track
  17. club — for golf
  18. fork — in a road
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. club — a group
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. club — for dancing
  24. coach — a trainer

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