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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 116 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: bank · tube · drill · pop · pitcher · pound · cell · march

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bank — for money
  3. march — the month
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — in biology
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pop — soda
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pop — to visit
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pop — music
  17. bank — of a river
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. drill — army training
  20. tube — a container
  21. bank — for money
  22. pound — a weight
  23. march — music
  24. cell — in a prison

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