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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: bank · bark · toast · clip · march · prune · kid · band

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bank — for money
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — for paper
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a ring
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — to tease
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — a video
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bank — for money
  20. march — music
  21. bank — of a river
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. toast — bread

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