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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: hand · spell · band · land · march · bore · coach · jam

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. land — ground
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — to come down
  6. march — the month
  7. band — a ring
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. hand — help
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. march — the month
  16. land — a country
  17. march — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bore — to tire
  24. jam — in traffic

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