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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: bound · march · track · object · file · roll · drill · bank

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. object — to protest
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. march — the month
  5. track — a path
  6. bound — obliged
  7. track — a song
  8. roll — a list
  9. bank — for money
  10. march — the month
  11. bank — of a river
  12. file — a tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bound — certain
  16. object — an aim
  17. march — music
  18. bound — tied together
  19. roll — a cake
  20. file — a document
  21. drill — army training
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bank — for money
  24. object — a thing

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