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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: race · march · spring · charge · wax · band · face · prune

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. race — a contest
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. charge — in control
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. charge — a price
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. face — part of the head
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. race — the arms race
  22. charge — electricity
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — the fruit

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