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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: track · fall · bore · rash · prune · craft · content · plane

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — hasty
  3. track — a path
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — to keep track
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. prune — to trim
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. plane — a tool
  13. craft — boats
  14. track — a song
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bore — to tire
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bore — to drill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. content — the amount
  23. craft — a skill
  24. fall — the season

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