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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: game · leaves · march · sharp · race · lean · band · nail

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a music group
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. race — a contest
  5. march — music
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. band — a ring
  11. lean — thin
  12. march — the month
  13. game — wild animals
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. race — the arms race
  16. game — a match
  17. lean — to bend
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. race — humankind
  24. leaves — of a tree

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