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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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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: march · jam · mark · race · branch · rash · temple · bound

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — music
  3. rash — hasty
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mark — a trace
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. race — humankind
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bound — certain
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. march — the month
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. race — a contest

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