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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: key · race · mark · squash · game · march · track · tube

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. tube — a container
  3. track — a path
  4. march — the month
  5. track — to keep track
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tube — the underground
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. race — humankind
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. race — a contest
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — music
  14. mark — a trace
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. game — wild animals
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — the sport
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. mark — a grade
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. game — a match

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