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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: present · content · march · wind · wake · rush · ball · track

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — the amount
  3. ball — a dance
  4. track — a song
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. track — to keep track
  8. march — music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. content — happy
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — the month
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. track — a path
  23. march — the month
  24. rush — to hurry

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