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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. kid — child
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a document
  6. foot — a measure
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. bank — of a river
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bank — for money
  14. pass — a permit
  15. file — a tool
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bank — for money
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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