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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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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 · wake · tear · last · staff · track · march · can

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. staff — a stick
  5. march — music
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. can — to be able to
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — to go on
  13. staff — employees
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — final
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. march — the month
  20. prune — to trim
  21. staff — employees
  22. prune — to trim
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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