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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: spell · content · march · file · date · rest · prune · trunk

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. spell — letters
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rest — a break
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. content — the amount
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spell — a short time
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — happy
  17. file — a tool
  18. spell — magic
  19. prune — to trim
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. prune — to trim
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. march — the month

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