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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: march · prune · band · rock · pop · fall · clip · coach

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pop — music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. march — music
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pop — soda
  14. prune — to trim
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rock — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rock — a stone
  22. clip — to cut
  23. band — a music group
  24. march — the month

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