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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 116 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 · trunk · mine · cue · fall · coach · prune · tear

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — from crying
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. cue — for pool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cue — a signal
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. fall — the season
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. track — a song
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cue — a hint

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