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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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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: land · pass · march · field · bank · mark · file · prune

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. file — a tool
  3. bank — for money
  4. march — the month
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — music
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pass — a permit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. land — to come down
  16. mark — a trace
  17. prune — to trim
  18. march — the month
  19. mark — a grade
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a document
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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