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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bark · net · object · sharp · fork · field · racket

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. prune — to trim
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. net — in sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fork — in a road
  14. sharp — clever
  15. object — to protest
  16. net — for catching
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. object — a thing
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — a subject
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. object — an aim

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