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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: chair · court · tube · bank · bulb · march · wind · mate

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — to breed
  5. court — of law
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bank — of a river
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. court — for sport
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — a container
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bank — for money
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of a king
  20. bulb — for light
  21. mate — a friend
  22. bank — for money
  23. march — music
  24. wind — moving air

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