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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: trunk · chest · band · kid · bore · bound · march · sharp

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. march — the month
  9. bound — tied together
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — clever
  16. band — a music group
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bound — certain
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bound — obliged

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