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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: rock · march · swing · wake · current · race · rush · spring

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. current — electric
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wake — a trail
  5. march — the month
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. swing — music
  11. race — a contest
  12. rock — a stone
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spring — a coil
  15. current — happening now
  16. rush — hurry
  17. march — the month
  18. swing — to play on
  19. spring — the season
  20. race — humankind
  21. march — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. current — of water
  24. rush — a thrill

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