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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: trunk · bass · cell · clip · mate · bay · march · field

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. field — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bass — the fish
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bass — low music
  8. mate — a partner
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — farmland
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — a subject
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — a video
  23. march — music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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