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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: sharp · bat · bound · march · bank · ball · last · band

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. ball — a great time
  4. last — to go on
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. last — final
  7. march — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. last — finally
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a music group
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bound — certain
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. bound — tied together
  19. band — a ring
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bound — obliged
  22. ball — a dance
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a rubber band

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