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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: toast · stand · band · capital · prune · march · pitcher · file

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — the month
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. file — a line of people
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. capital — a city
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — money
  11. band — a music group
  12. stand — to bear
  13. toast — bread
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a ring
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. march — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. prune — to trim

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