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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: tear · ground · pop · prune · wound · march · board · toast

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. ground — a position
  4. pop — music
  5. march — the month
  6. prune — to trim
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. toast — bread
  9. tear — to rip
  10. board — a committee
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pop — soda
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — to visit
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. march — music
  23. board — to get on
  24. wound — an injury

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