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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 116 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 · tear · bank · cap · bass · shower · march · pop

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pop — soda
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bass — low music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pop — music
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — rain
  21. tear — to rip
  22. march — the month
  23. bank — for money
  24. bass — the instrument

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