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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: march · track · mine · roll · clip · mark · band · board

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. roll — a list
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — a video
  7. track — a path
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. march — music
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. march — the month
  14. board — a committee
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. track — a song
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. track — to keep track
  21. clip — for paper
  22. band — a music group
  23. mark — a trace
  24. board — to get on

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