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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: bank · march · field · trunk · root · pop · mine · pitch

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mine — for digging
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bank — of a river
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. bank — for money
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pop — music
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. field — farmland
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. root — of a plant

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