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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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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: lie · toast · race · prune · kid · track · fork · file

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. track — to keep track
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — child
  9. race — the arms race
  10. track — a path
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. toast — bread
  15. track — a song
  16. lie — to recline
  17. race — a contest
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fork — in a road
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. race — humankind
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fork — to eat with

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