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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: march · fine · club · key · present · chair · band · tear

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chair — a leader
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. march — the month
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. march — the month
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. march — music
  11. band — a music group
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for dancing
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. key — in music
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. present — there
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a ring
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

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