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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: squash · rule · wake · march · pound · trunk · field · stem

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wake — a trail
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. march — music
  12. field — for sport
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — a subject
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stem — to come from
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rule — a law
  22. pound — a weight
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rule — government

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