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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. field — for sport
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bank — of a river
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bank — for money
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — for money
  18. snap — to click
  19. march — the month
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — an illness
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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