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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: pop · trunk · march · bound · chest · shower · bank · cap

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. bound — obliged
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — to visit
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — a box
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pop — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bound — tied together
  20. shower — rain
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bound — certain
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bank — of a river

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