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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: kid · prune · season · board · club · stand · march · cold

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. club — for golf
  3. cold — an illness
  4. march — music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. cold — not warm
  9. season — in sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. season — of the year
  13. club — a group
  14. march — the month
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. march — the month
  17. board — to get on
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. board — a committee

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