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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: march · tube · band · safe · racket · game · scale · wake

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — music
  3. game — a match
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. scale — in music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. march — the month
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. march — the month
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. tube — a container
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. scale — size or range
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wake — before a funeral

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