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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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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 · ball · jam · chest · roll · prune · drill · coach

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ball — a great time
  6. prune — to trim
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. roll — a list
  9. track — a song
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — army training
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. roll — a cake
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a dance
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. drill — a practice

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