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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: season · row · race · hand · prune · chip · march · band

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — to paddle
  7. season — in sport
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. row — a line
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. season — of the year
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a ring
  14. chip — to eat
  15. band — a music group
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. march — music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chip — for betting
  21. prune — to trim
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hand — help

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