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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 116 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: prune · racket · mark · track · pass · hand · row · drill

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. hand — in cards
  8. track — to keep track
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pass — a permit
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. hand — help
  13. track — a song
  14. row — to paddle
  15. track — a path
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. mark — a trace
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. row — a line
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mark — a grade
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. drill — army training

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