10 Examples of Multiple Meaning Words for Your Classroom

A list of 10 multiple-meaning words with sentences

Compare the meanings across each row. The word links open Cambridge Dictionary entries with further senses and audio. This is a starter list of selected meanings, not an exhaustive dictionary.

How to choose a meaning: read the whole sentence, identify the topic and check the word’s grammatical role. Then substitute a short definition. She got a gift for her birthday makes sense; She got attending for her birthday does not.

A word alone may not give you enough information. Bank has several senses; river bank and bank account give much clearer clues. If the sentence is still unclear, read the surrounding sentences or check the relevant dictionary entry.

Do multiple-meaning words sound the same?

Sometimes. Bank, bark, seal, bat, light and match keep the same pronunciation across the meanings shown here. Present, lead, bow and tear need a closer check.

• Present: the noun for a gift and the adjective meaning attending are PRE-sent, /ˈprez.ənt/. The verb is pre-SENT, /prɪˈzent/. Listen to Cambridge’s present audio.
• Lead: the guiding verb is /liːd/, rhyming with need. The metal is /led/, rhyming with bed. The past tense of the verb is spelt led: Yesterday she led the group. See the lead entry and verb forms.
• Bow: bending and the front of a ship use /baʊ/, rhyming with now. A ribbon knot and the archery weapon use UK /bəʊ/ or US /boʊ/, rhyming with go. Listen to the two bow pronunciations.
• Tear: ripping rhymes with hair; the drop from an eye rhymes with near. Cambridge gives UK /teə(r)/ and US /ter/ for ripping, and UK /tɪə(r)/ and US /tɪr/ for the eye meaning. Listen to the tear pronunciation pairs.

Words with the same spelling and different meanings are called homographs; they may or may not sound the same. For a first lesson, choosing a meaning and reading the sentence correctly matters more than memorising terminology.

Two extra cautions: Polish/polish and read/read

Polish and polish: a vowel change, not a stress change

Polish with a capital P refers to Poland or its language: She is Polish. He speaks Polish. The verb polish means make a surface shine: Please polish the table. Both put the stress on the first syllable.

The vowel differs: nationality/language Polish is UK /ˈpəʊ.lɪʃ/, US /ˈpoʊ.lɪʃ/; the verb polish is UK /ˈpɒl.ɪʃ/, US /ˈpɑː.lɪʃ/. Listen to Cambridge’s recordings of both forms. At the start of a sentence, the verb also gets a capital: Polish the table before the guests arrive. Capitalisation alone is therefore not always enough.

Read and read: tense can change the sound without changing the meaning

I read every night uses present-tense /riːd/. I read that book yesterday uses past-tense /red/. Both describe reading written words; the contrast here is time and verb form, not two different vocabulary meanings. The past participle is also /red/: I have read that book. See Cambridge’s read entry.

Read does have other senses, such as interpreting a situation. However, a present/past sentence pair by itself does not demonstrate those different senses. This is why the ten-word meaning list uses light and match, while these spelling and tense contrasts have their own notes.

10 multiple-meaning-word exercises with answers

For each bold word, write a short meaning and underline the context clue. In item 2, explain both occurrences. For items 2, 3, 7 and 8, also say the word aloud before opening the answer.

Use your browser’s Print command for a learner copy with answer panels hidden. The reference list and questions remain visible.

1. After paddling across the river, we pulled our canoe onto the bank.
   Answer 1

   Land at the river’s edge. Paddling, river and canoe establish the setting. The sentence does not describe a financial business.

2. All the speakers must be present before they present their ideas to the audience.
   Answer 2

   First: attending; second: show or explain formally. Be present describes the speakers’ attendance. Present their ideas describes what they do. Say PRE-sent first, then pre-SENT.

3. The laboratory report identified lead in a sample taken from the old metal pipe.
   Answer 3

   The metal. A laboratory report, a sample and a metal pipe point to a material. Say /led/, rhyming with bed.

4. The oak tree had deep cracks in its rough bark.
   Answer 4

   The tree’s outer covering. Oak tree, cracks and rough describe a surface. There is no dog making a sound.

5. Put the letter inside, then seal the envelope so it stays closed in the post.
   Answer 5

   Close securely. Envelope and stays closed explain the action. Here seal is a verb, rather than the name of an animal or an official mark.

6. The bat spread its wings and flew from the roof into the night.
   Answer 6

   A flying mammal. Wings and flew distinguish the animal from sports equipment.

7. Her shoelace had come undone, so she tied it in a bow.
   Answer 7

   A knot with loops. Shoelace, undone and tied point to a knot. Say UK /bəʊ/ or US /boʊ/, rhyming with go.

8. Use the scissors carefully so you do not tear the thin paper around the photograph.
   Answer 8

   Rip or pull apart. Thin paper is the material that could be damaged. The verb rhymes with hair, not near.

9. Now that the suitcase is empty, it feels light when I lift it.
   Answer 9

   Not heavy. Empty and lift establish weight as the relevant meaning. The sentence is not about brightness.

10. Our volleyball match starts at four, and the visiting team is already warming up.
    Answer 10

    A sports contest. Volleyball and visiting team identify the event. A small stick used to make a flame would not fit this context.

Context challenge: when is there not enough information?

Sam waited at the bank. Can you tell whether Sam is beside a river or at a financial business? Add a few words to make each meaning clear.

A short classroom follow-up

1. Compare: choose three rows from the word list. Learners label the meanings and circle the words that distinguish them.
2. Check: use the practice questions without showing their explanations. Ask for the clue as well as the definition. If the meaning is right but the pronunciation is wrong, revisit the relevant audio pair.
3. Transfer: each learner writes two new sentences using different meanings of one word. A partner identifies both meanings and underlines the evidence. If either sentence is ambiguous, add context and try again.

Model for the transfer task: The bank opened a savings account for the club. Later, the club members planted reeds along the river bank. The clues are savings account and river. Accept different sentences when their meanings and clues are defensible.

For a longer lesson, move from these sentence pairs to the sample task in the ESL reading practice guide. For written follow-up, use the English writing practice guide to plan a short task and feedback. The questions on this page are practice material, not a proficiency test.