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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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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: stand · march · tear · pass · game · file · spring · band

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. game — a match
  17. band — a ring
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stand — to bear
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — a permit
  23. band — a music group
  24. march — the month

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