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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: rock · degree · band · pitcher · race · march · lash · ground

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. march — the month
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. ground — crushed
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. march — music
  13. ground — a position
  14. race — a contest
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a music group
  17. rock — a stone
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. race — the arms race
  21. band — a ring
  22. race — humankind
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rock — music

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