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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 120 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: row · band · march · cold · pass · rock · lean · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. band — a music group
  3. row — a line
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. pass — a permit
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. band — a ring
  14. rock — music
  15. lean — to bend
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. lean — thin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cold — the Cold War

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