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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. stand — to bear
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. stand — for spectators

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