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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: band · march · ruler · stock · race · bark

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. race — humankind
  5. stock — goods
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. stock — shares
  9. march — the month
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. march — music
  16. band — a music group
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. ruler — for measuring

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