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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: prune · bowl · face · cell · sharp · march · track · rush

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cell — a phone
  5. track — to keep track
  6. march — the month
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. sharp — clever
  9. track — a song
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. track — a path
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. rush — a thrill

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