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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 120 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: field · march · object · race · press · face · track · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. race — the arms race
  3. track — a song
  4. press — to push
  5. field — a subject
  6. track — to keep track
  7. field — for sport
  8. object — to protest
  9. field — farmland
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. march — music
  14. press — a publisher
  15. race — a contest
  16. object — a thing
  17. march — the month
  18. object — an aim
  19. march — the month
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — newspapers
  22. last — final
  23. race — humankind
  24. track — a path

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