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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: mark · pound · date · rest · squash · land · coach · band

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a trace
  5. rest — a break
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. squash — to crush
  10. band — a ring
  11. land — ground
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — a weight
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — to come down
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. date — the fruit
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. land — a country
  23. band — a music group
  24. rest — what's left

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