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

Word bank: present · file · track · prune · wave · ground · mark · kid

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mark — a trace
  4. kid — to tease
  5. file — a tool
  6. kid — child
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. track — to keep track
  11. file — a document
  12. ground — the earth
  13. present — the time now
  14. ground — a position
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mark — a grade
  19. present — a gift
  20. file — a line of people
  21. track — a song
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. track — a path
  24. present — there

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