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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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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: pitcher · wound · pitch · fork · prune · tear · wax · branch

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. branch — a division
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tear — to rip
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pitcher — a jug

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