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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: bound · cue · branch · pound · field · trunk · game · march

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — wild animals
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — the month
  10. cue — for pool
  11. branch — a division
  12. cue — a hint
  13. field — farmland
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bound — tied together
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. game — a match
  19. pound — a weight
  20. march — the month
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. march — music
  24. cue — a signal

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