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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — in sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. race — humankind
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. season — of the year
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. squash — to crush
  20. race — a contest
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. race — the arms race
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wind — moving air

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