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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: object · chair · drill · mate · band · march · pass · bank

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. object — a thing
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. drill — army training
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mate — a friend
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. object — to protest
  13. chair — a leader
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. pass — a permit
  17. object — an aim
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bank — for money
  22. march — music
  23. bank — for money
  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