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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: wound · cell · prune · last · wave · lie · toast · track

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. track — a path
  3. wound — an injury
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. last — to go on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. track — a song
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. lie — to recline
  19. toast — bread
  20. cell — in biology
  21. track — to keep track
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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