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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: court · bank · tear · club · row · march

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — of a king
  6. tear — from crying
  7. court — for sport
  8. march — music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bank — for money
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. march — the month
  15. row — to paddle
  16. court — of law
  17. row — a line
  18. march — the month

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