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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: chest · chair · straw · pop · suit · pound · bank · march

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. march — the month
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pop — soda
  7. pound — a weight
  8. suit — in cards
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pop — music
  15. bank — for money
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. chest — a box
  20. suit — to fit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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