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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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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: last · face · chip · track · race · bound · march · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. face — part of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. bound — certain
  5. march — the month
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. march — music
  8. chip — for betting
  9. race — a contest
  10. track — a path
  11. last — final
  12. track — a song
  13. bound — tied together
  14. chip — to eat
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. face — to confront
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. face — to point toward
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bound — obliged
  24. track — to keep track

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