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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 116 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: prune · hide · content · last · track · march · band · mark

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. band — a ring
  3. content — happy
  4. track — a path
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. march — the month
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — the amount
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mark — a trace
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — to go on
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. track — a song
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. content — videos and posts

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