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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: mate · wound · board · wind · march · race

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. board — a committee
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. march — the month
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. mate — a friend
  7. march — music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. board — to get on
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — a contest
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mate — to breed
  16. race — humankind
  17. mate — a partner
  18. wound — an injury

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