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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 · lie · wound · craft · hand · march · bank · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bank — for money
  3. march — music
  4. bank — of a river
  5. can — to be able to
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wound — an injury
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bank — for money
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lie — to recline
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. hand — help
  19. craft — boats
  20. march — the month
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hand — in cards
  24. can — a tin

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