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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bass — low music
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mate — to breed
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bass — the fish
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mate — a partner
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. race — a contest
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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