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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: track · march · nail · prune · spell · row · rash · can

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. spell — letters
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. track — to keep track
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. can — a tin
  11. track — a song
  12. march — music
  13. track — a path
  14. march — the month
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. can — a tin
  19. prune — to trim
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rash — a series
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. march — the month

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