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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: bay · prune · key · band · content · fork · capital · pitch

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a music group
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — in a road
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. content — happy
  16. key — for a lock
  17. prune — to trim
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pitch — completely
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  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