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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 · bowl · pop · cold · race · march · board · temple

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. mark — to pay attention
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. march — music
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. race — humankind
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. pop — soda
  9. mark — a trace
  10. march — the month
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pop — music
  14. board — a committee
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mark — a grade
  22. board — to get on
  23. march — the month
  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