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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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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: bark · staff · present · pitch · foot · scale · prune · chest

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. prune — to trim
  3. present — a gift
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. foot — a measure
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — completely
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chest — a box
  14. present — the time now
  15. scale — in music
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. present — there
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — to shout
  23. staff — employees
  24. prune — the fruit

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