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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: march · stick · bank · chest · wake · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. march — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. march — the month
  8. bank — for money
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chest — a box
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bank — for money
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bank — of a river
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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