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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: wake · content · file · kick · band · prune · club · ground

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. club — for dancing
  3. file — a line of people
  4. prune — to trim
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ground — the earth
  8. kick — in football
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wake — a trail
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a ring
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. ground — crushed
  15. content — the amount
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. club — a group
  20. band — a music group
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. club — for golf

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