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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: content · pit · march · trunk · last · bear · patient · band

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pit — a hole
  6. content — happy
  7. last — to go on
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pit — in a race
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. band — a ring
  14. bear — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. last — finally
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. last — final
  24. patient — a sick person

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