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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 116 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: race · march · season · band · suit · pound

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. march — the month
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. march — the month
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. season — in sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. pound — a weight
  14. suit — clothes
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. march — music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. race — humankind

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