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

Word bank: race · march · present · trunk · patient · wind

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. race — a contest
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. march — the month
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. march — the month
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. present — a gift
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. present — the time now
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. present — there

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