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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: rush · rash · jam · ball · wave · band · march · race

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. rush — hurry
  3. band — a ring
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. rash — a series
  9. ball — a great time
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rash — hasty
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a music group
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. march — music
  20. race — humankind
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. race — a contest

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