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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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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: drill · arm · prune · swing · kid · track · lean · tube

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — to tease
  3. swing — music
  4. drill — the tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. drill — army training
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. lean — to bend
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — the underground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. track — a path
  14. swing — to play on
  15. track — a song
  16. tube — a container
  17. swing — in golf
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lean — thin
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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