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

Word bank: bank · tear · wind · march · charge · scale

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. charge — a price
  4. scale — in music
  5. bank — of a river
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. march — the month
  10. charge — electricity
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tear — from crying
  15. charge — in control
  16. march — the month
  17. tear — to rip
  18. scale — size or range

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