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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: ball · bass · stick · bank · chair · rest · race · march

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. march — music
  4. ball — a great time
  5. march — the month
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bank — of a river
  8. race — humankind
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bank — for money
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — a contest
  15. bank — for money
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rest — a break
  19. ball — a dance
  20. rest — what's left
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bass — low music

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