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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: toast · race · net · track · march · tear

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. net — for catching
  3. track — a path
  4. march — the month
  5. track — to keep track
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. march — music
  13. race — a contest
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. march — the month
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. net — after costs
  18. track — a song

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