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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · ground · lie · wound · march · rash · chair · band

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ground — a position
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pound — a weight
  11. band — a ring
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. band — a music group
  14. march — the month
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. ground — crushed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lie — to recline
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rash — hasty
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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