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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. 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. bass — low music
  2. race — the arms race
  3. season — of the year
  4. race — a contest
  5. roll — a cake
  6. season — in sport
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. roll — a list
  14. capital — a city
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bass — the fish
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. 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