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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: ground · fine · wound · pitch · bark · mark · prune · coach

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fine — high quality
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ground — the earth
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. ground — a position
  21. prune — to trim
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. prune — to trim

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