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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: march · craft · cue · club · file · bank · rule · coach

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. rule — a law
  4. craft — boats
  5. club — for golf
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. craft — a skill
  8. march — the month
  9. cue — for pool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a document
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bank — for money
  14. club — a group
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bank — for money
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bank — of a river
  20. file — a tool
  21. rule — government
  22. cue — a signal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — for dancing

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