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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: rock · lean · chair · ball · march · wind · fork · band

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. lean — thin
  6. ball — a dance
  7. rock — a stone
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a great time
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. lean — to bend
  14. rock — music
  15. band — a music group
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a ring
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wind — moving air
  24. march — music

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