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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 116 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: press · pass · band · bat · race · track · mouse · march

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. track — to keep track
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. march — the month
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. track — a song
  21. march — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. press — a publisher
  24. race — humankind

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