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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. file — a document
  3. mark — a trace
  4. last — final
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. drill — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. prune — to trim
  9. track — a path
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — finally
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — army training
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — to go on
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mark — a grade
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. saw — the tool

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