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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 · last · pop · mine · march · kick · pit · prune

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — to go on
  3. pop — soda
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. last — final
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pit — in a race
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pop — to visit
  16. march — music
  17. pit — a hole
  18. kick — in football
  19. march — the month
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mine — an explosive

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