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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: file · wound · rock · track · can · prune · hand · branch

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. file — a tool
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. file — a line of people
  11. track — to keep track
  12. prune — to trim
  13. track — a song
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. track — a path
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. can — a tin
  22. file — a document
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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