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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: prune · file · straw · track · cell · kick · drill · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — the tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. file — a line of people
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cell — in biology
  11. drill — army training
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. track — a song
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bound — obliged
  17. kick — in football
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bound — certain
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a document
  22. drill — a practice
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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