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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · spell · race · squash · net · season · march · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. race — the arms race
  3. track — to keep track
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. march — the month
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. march — the month
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. last — finally
  15. march — music
  16. season — of the year
  17. race — a contest
  18. net — after costs
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spell — a short time
  21. race — humankind
  22. net — in sport
  23. season — in sport
  24. track — a song

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