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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 116 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: prune · patient · court · pitcher · bay · tear · bark · bore

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bore — to tire
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — for sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. court — of law
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — of a king
  17. bore — to drill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bay — a horse colour

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