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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: bank · patient · track · cold · race · march · mark · season

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bank — for money
  12. season — of the year
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bank — for money
  17. march — music
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. track — a path
  21. race — humankind
  22. season — in sport
  23. mark — a grade
  24. track — a song

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