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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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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: coach · band · race · march · wind · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. band — a music group
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a ring
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. march — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. race — the arms race
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — the month
  18. wind — to turn a key

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