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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: wound · race · season · hand · march · land · band · stick

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. season — of the year
  5. march — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a ring
  8. race — a contest
  9. land — a country
  10. race — the arms race
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. land — ground
  15. race — humankind
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. band — a music group
  22. season — in sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. wound — an injury

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