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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: current · prune · date · bowl · track · face · stem · land

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. face — part of the head
  5. current — of water
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to confront
  9. land — a country
  10. track — to keep track
  11. land — to come down
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. current — happening now
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. current — electric
  18. track — a path
  19. stem — to come from
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. track — a song
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bowl — a football final

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