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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: lean · cell · prune · drill · wound · track · file · cap

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. prune — to trim
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a song
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cell — a phone
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cap — a lid
  13. track — to keep track
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lean — to bend
  17. file — a line of people
  18. track — a path
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — army training
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — of ice
  23. lean — thin
  24. cell — in biology

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