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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: chest · pound · cap · band · march · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chest — a box
  3. cap — a hat
  4. band — a music group
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. march — music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. cap — a lid
  12. march — the month
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pound — a weight
  16. march — the month
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. racket — for tennis

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