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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: track · rash · prune · staff · straw · last · drill · wake

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. rash — hasty
  4. drill — army training
  5. rash — a series
  6. drill — a practice
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. staff — employees
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — the tool
  12. staff — a stick
  13. track — to keep track
  14. staff — employees
  15. track — a song
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. track — a path
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — to go on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wake — a trail

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