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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: chair · rock · temple · cap · rest · stock · march · band

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rock — music
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cap — a lid
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. march — music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rest — a break
  11. band — a ring
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rest — what's left
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stock — goods
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. band — a music group
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stock — shares

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