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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: track · prune · hand · present · kid · pound · saw · chip

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. kid — child
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. present — there
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. saw — the tool
  10. track — a song
  11. pound — a weight
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — help
  17. present — a gift
  18. track — a path
  19. present — the time now
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. prune — to trim

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