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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: rush · tube · march · rule · capital · track · lash · band

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — a law
  4. track — to keep track
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rush — hurry
  8. track — a path
  9. band — a ring
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. capital — money
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. track — a song
  19. band — a music group
  20. capital — a city
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rule — government
  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