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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: field · tube · march · branch · wake · bound · race · mouse

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. bound — obliged
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bound — tied together
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. race — humankind
  10. bound — certain
  11. field — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — a subject
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. branch — a division
  18. tube — the underground
  19. race — the arms race
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. march — the month
  23. field — farmland
  24. march — music

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