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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: band · squash · bank · jam · drill · march · current · field

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. bank — of a river
  3. band — a ring
  4. squash — to crush
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. march — the month
  7. bank — for money
  8. current — electric
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — happening now
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — the sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. field — for sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. field — a subject
  18. bank — for money
  19. drill — army training
  20. march — music
  21. current — of water
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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