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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 · track · race · charge · march · tear

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. march — music
  7. band — a ring
  8. tear — from crying
  9. charge — a price
  10. tear — to rip
  11. track — a path
  12. charge — in control
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. charge — electricity
  16. race — a contest
  17. track — a song
  18. race — the arms race

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