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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: key · tear · band · scale · rash · branch · march · coach

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. key — for a lock
  4. scale — size or range
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — a series
  9. key — in music
  10. band — a music group
  11. scale — in music
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. key — the most important part
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a ring

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