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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — in sport
  4. track — a path
  5. race — a contest
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. march — the month
  9. race — humankind
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. march — music
  13. track — to keep track
  14. chair — a leader
  15. season — of the year
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. track — a song
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. march — the month
  23. race — the arms race
  24. deal — to handle

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