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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: cabinet · prune · band · lash · track · wind · field · content

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. content — happy
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. field — a subject
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a music group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. band — a ring

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