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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. spring — the season
  4. board — a committee
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. net — after costs
  7. march — the month
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. march — music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. board — to get on
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — for digging
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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