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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 120 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: tear · rash · board · pitch · spring · chest · trunk · march

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — the month
  6. rash — a series
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. board — to get on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitch — completely
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — the month
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. tear — to rip
  22. spring — the season
  23. chest — a box
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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