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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: mine · coach · bore · fall · content · track · prune · march

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bore — to tire
  8. fall — the season
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. track — to keep track
  12. march — the month
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. content — the amount
  17. track — a song
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — music
  20. content — happy
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — the month
  24. track — a path

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