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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chest — a box
  7. bank — for money
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a music group
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. march — music
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. field — farmland
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bank — of a river
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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