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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: bear · prune · nail · march · pitcher · track · trunk · mine

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — the animal
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. track — a song
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — music
  15. track — a path
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bear — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. prune — to trim
  24. track — to keep track

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