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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 120 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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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 · band · stand · bank · pit · tear · march · shower

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pit — in a race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. stand — to bear
  6. band — a ring
  7. march — music
  8. pit — a hole
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. land — ground
  13. bank — for money
  14. tear — from crying
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bank — for money
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. shower — rain
  20. bank — of a river
  21. band — a music group
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. march — the month
  24. land — a country

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