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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: land · prune · foot · march · date · coach · rest · key

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. march — the month
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rest — what's left
  13. key — for a lock
  14. prune — to trim
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. key — in music
  17. date — the fruit
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. march — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. foot — a measure
  22. march — the month
  23. key — the most important part
  24. land — to come down

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