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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. band — a music group
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. march — music
  7. shower — rain
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stem — to come from
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. file — a line of people
  19. swing — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a document
  22. bank — for money
  23. march — the month
  24. swing — in golf

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