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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: drill · season · ground · hand · coach · bank · march · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. drill — army training
  3. bank — for money
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. race — a contest
  6. march — music
  7. bank — of a river
  8. race — the arms race
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. season — in sport
  13. march — the month
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — help
  19. drill — a practice
  20. season — of the year
  21. ground — a position
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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