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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: board · hide · race · hand · cell · band · prune · march

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. march — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. race — a contest
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hand — help
  7. board — a committee
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cell — a phone
  13. board — to get on
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. race — the arms race
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a ring
  22. hand — in cards
  23. march — the month
  24. prune — to trim

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