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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · wound · bore · swing · row · track · leaves · prune

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. chest — a box
  3. swing — music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. row — a line
  7. prune — to trim
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. row — to paddle
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. track — a path
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bore — to drill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. swing — in 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