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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: prune · file · temple · season · march · sharp · stock · spring

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. season — in sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. prune — to trim
  5. season — of the year
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. spring — a coil
  12. file — a line of people
  13. prune — to trim
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. spring — of water
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. file — a tool
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. stock — shares
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — the season
  24. file — a document

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