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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: mark · march · mine · race · last · object · spring · land

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — an aim
  3. mine — for digging
  4. spring — of water
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — a trace
  11. spring — the season
  12. object — to protest
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. march — the month
  15. last — finally
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mark — a grade
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — to go on
  20. land — to come down
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. last — final
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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