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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: bark · court · stem · key · pitch · content · wound · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. content — happy
  3. court — of law
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitch — completely
  16. court — of a king
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. key — in music
  19. content — the amount
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stem — to come from
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. key — for a lock

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