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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: spring · march · bound · rash · hand · date · dip · band

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. rash — hasty
  4. band — a ring
  5. spring — the season
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spring — of water
  12. rash — a series
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — music
  21. bound — obliged
  22. band — a music group
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hand — help

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