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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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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: march · nail · wound · bore · prune · track · clip · rush

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. track — a path
  3. clip — a video
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bore — to drill
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. march — the month
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rush — hurry
  20. track — a song
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. track — to keep track

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