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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: saw · drill · present · track · prune · content · net · land

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. present — there
  3. drill — army training
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — happy
  8. net — for catching
  9. present — the time now
  10. content — the amount
  11. prune — to trim
  12. drill — a practice
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. land — to come down
  19. drill — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. present — a gift
  23. net — in sport
  24. track — to keep track

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