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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: leaves · band · cabinet · chair · march · stick · lash · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. march — music
  4. band — a music group
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. game — a match
  7. band — a ring
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. march — the month
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. march — the month
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. leaves — lets stay

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