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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 · file · wound · pass · march · toast · nail · degree

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. file — a line of people
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. toast — bread
  13. degree — temperature
  14. file — a document
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a tool
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pass — a permit
  21. degree — an amount
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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