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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bowl · march · fall · date · trunk · stand · spring · rash

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. date — the fruit
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. march — the month
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. spring — the season
  12. march — music
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fall — the season
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stand — to bear
  24. date — on the calendar

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