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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 · track · toast · spell · prune · object · ground · rule

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ground — a position
  5. toast — bread
  6. track — a song
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spell — magic
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — to protest
  11. track — a path
  12. saw — the tool
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spell — a short time
  15. saw — the tool
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spell — letters
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rule — government
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. rule — a law

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