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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 116 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: march · content · trunk · fall · game · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — music
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. content — happy
  11. prune — to trim
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. game — a match
  14. content — the amount
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — to drop
  18. prune — the fruit

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