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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: game · mouse · present · board · patient · trunk · march · pop

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. pop — to visit
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. march — the month
  7. board — a committee
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. present — a gift
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — the month
  13. board — to get on
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. march — music
  18. pop — music
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. present — the time now
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pop — soda

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