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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 · march · chair · suit · bat · can · prune · mark

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. band — a music group
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mark — a trace
  10. suit — to fit
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. march — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. can — a tin
  17. mark — a grade
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. suit — in cards
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — a leader
  24. can — to be able to

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