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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ball — a great time
  4. swing — to play on
  5. race — humankind
  6. swing — in golf
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. mate — a friend
  11. race — a contest
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. swing — music
  16. band — a ring
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. season — in sport
  23. ball — a dance
  24. race — the arms race

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