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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 120 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 · trunk · march · bound · pitcher · pop · stand · mate

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. pop — soda
  3. land — a country
  4. pop — music
  5. march — the month
  6. land — to come down
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mate — to breed
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bound — obliged
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. march — music
  14. bound — certain
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — a partner
  20. march — the month
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stand — for spectators
  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