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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 124 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. last — final
  4. season — in sport
  5. rash — hasty
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. race — a contest
  8. club — a group
  9. season — of the year
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. club — for golf
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rash — a series
  18. last — finally
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. race — the arms race
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — humankind

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