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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: band · chest · march · firm · rule · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. present — a gift
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. band — a ring
  9. rule — a law
  10. march — the month
  11. present — the time now
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. band — a music group
  15. rule — government
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chest — of your body
  18. firm — steady

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