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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: last · march · capital · tube · stand · prune · lie · bay

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. march — the month
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. lie — to recline
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a city
  11. last — to go on
  12. stand — to bear
  13. march — the month
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tube — the underground
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. stand — on your feet

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