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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: bear · march · foot · pound · bank · bat · kid · press

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bank — for money
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kid — child
  8. bank — for money
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pound — a weight
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. press — to push
  17. march — the month
  18. bear — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. march — the month
  24. foot — part of the body

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