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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: band · bank · tear · chest · march · wake · season · bear

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — the month
  6. chest — a box
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bank — of a river
  11. march — the month
  12. season — of the year
  13. tear — to rip
  14. march — music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a music group
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bear — the animal

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