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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: bowl · bank · pop · track · band · tear · file · race

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — humankind
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. file — a tool
  7. bank — for money
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. bank — for money
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. race — a contest
  13. bank — of a river
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pop — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — a song
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. race — the arms race
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pop — to visit
  22. band — a music group
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. file — a document

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