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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 116 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: wound · mine · bank · race · march · game · mate · root

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mate — a friend
  3. march — the month
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. root — of a word
  9. game — wild animals
  10. march — the month
  11. race — a contest
  12. march — music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. race — the arms race
  15. game — a match
  16. race — humankind
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. root — the cause
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bank — for money

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