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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: race · branch · bound · march · row · bat · mark · rock

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. branch — a division
  4. race — a contest
  5. mark — a grade
  6. march — music
  7. bound — certain
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. race — humankind
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rock — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bound — tied together
  21. row — a line
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rock — a stone

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