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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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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. spell — magic
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — a short time
  15. shower — to wash
  16. last — final
  17. stand — to bear
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — a match
  21. season — in sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — letters

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