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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 120 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: wake · net · saw · prune · row · last · track · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — to paddle
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. row — a line
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. net — in sport
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. track — to keep track
  16. saw — the tool
  17. track — a path
  18. last — finally
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — for catching
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. track — a song
  23. wake — a trail
  24. net — after costs

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