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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: file · perch · prune · rash · track · mark · game · can

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a line of people
  5. track — to keep track
  6. can — to be able to
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. file — a tool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — a path
  11. file — a document
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — wild animals
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mark — a trace
  20. track — a song
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. can — a tin
  24. game — a kind of play

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