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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: march · pass · scale · tear · band · rash · race · current

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pass — a permit
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tear — to rip
  5. race — humankind
  6. rash — hasty
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. band — a music group
  13. current — electric
  14. race — a contest
  15. march — the month
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. tear — from crying
  19. band — a ring
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. scale — in music
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rash — a series
  24. scale — for weighing

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