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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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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: pop · cold · chair · rest · foot · bank · march · band

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pop — music
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. pop — soda
  6. band — a ring
  7. march — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rest — what's left
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. march — the month
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pop — to visit
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. foot — a measure
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rest — a break

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