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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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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: band · prune · fall · bore · arm · pound · track · bay

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — a song
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. track — to keep track
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pound — a weight
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bore — to drill
  23. fall — the season
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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