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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 · straw · stick · track · march · drill · lean · rule

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rule — a law
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a path
  5. lean — to bend
  6. track — a song
  7. march — music
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. drill — the tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. track — to keep track
  24. lean — thin

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