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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.

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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: bark · rash · squash · race · march · band · plane · cell

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. plane — a tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bark — to shout
  11. march — the month
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rash — a series
  17. band — a music group
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. race — humankind
  21. band — a ring
  22. race — a contest
  23. squash — the sport
  24. plane — in geometry

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