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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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Word bank
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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 · file · chair · bowl · march · squash

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. squash — to crush
  5. march — the month
  6. bank — of a river
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. march — music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bank — for money
  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