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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 · roll · club · ground · wind · pop · cap · trunk

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cap — a lid
  5. club — a group
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — for golf
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. march — music
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. march — the month
  20. roll — a list
  21. march — the month
  22. roll — a cake
  23. cap — a hat
  24. pop — music

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