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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. race — a contest
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — humankind
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mate — to breed
  14. land — ground
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. race — the arms race
  18. shower — to wash
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mate — a partner
  21. kid — child
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — a line
  24. season — in sport

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