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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: cap · ground · suit · tube · march · pop · branch · wound

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — to fit
  3. tube — the underground
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pop — music
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. march — the month
  15. pop — to visit
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — soda
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. suit — clothes
  21. cap — a lid
  22. ground — a position
  23. tube — a container
  24. cap — of ice

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