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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: stand · chip · season · band · pound · sharp · march · kid

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. 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. sharp — clever
  2. stand — to bear
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. season — in sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. march — the month
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kid — child
  11. chip — for betting
  12. season — of the year
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. band — a ring
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. band — a music group
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. 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