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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: prune · band · staff · row · pass · ball · march · content

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. staff — a stick
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. staff — employees
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — a line
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pass — a permit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a dance
  19. staff — employees
  20. ball — a great time
  21. march — the month
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pass — to succeed

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