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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: chest · stick · fork · craft · wave · cell · bank · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. craft — boats
  3. cell — in biology
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. march — the month
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. craft — a skill
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bank — for money
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — the month
  22. bank — of a river
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. fork — to eat with

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