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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 120 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: court · fork · prune · pitch · pound · bark · fan · chair

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — for sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. court — of law
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. court — of a king

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