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

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bore — to tire
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. track — a path
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. track — a song
  15. bore — to drill
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ball — a dance
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cell — in biology
  23. branch — a division
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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