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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 120 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 · track · race · march · pit · plane · current · rule

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. race — humankind
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. plane — a tool
  5. march — the month
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — a contest
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rule — a law
  11. current — happening now
  12. march — music
  13. pit — a hole
  14. track — a song
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. current — electric
  17. rule — government
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. race — the arms race
  20. track — a path
  21. current — of water
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. march — the month
  24. pit — in a race

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