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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wake · track · fork · current · toast · plane · clip

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. current — happening now
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. clip — to cut
  6. current — of water
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. current — electric
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. plane — a tool
  11. toast — bread
  12. prune — to trim
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wake — a trail
  21. fork — in a road
  22. track — a song
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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