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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: chair · chest · pop · shower · march · wave · swing · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. march — music
  3. bank — for money
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. swing — to play on
  8. march — the month
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pop — to visit
  14. swing — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — a box
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bank — for money
  20. chair — a leader
  21. shower — to wash
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — to sit on

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