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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: land · nail · mark · pitcher · clip · band · fine · march

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. march — music
  3. land — ground
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. clip — to cut
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — a country
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. land — to come down
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fine — all right
  19. band — a ring
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. band — a music group

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