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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · can · game · degree · mate · fall · prune · trunk

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. can — a tin
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — to trim
  11. can — a tin
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — from a university
  16. can — to be able to
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mate — a partner
  23. march — music
  24. trunk — of a tree

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