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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. race — a contest
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — a phone
  9. season — in sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. march — music
  12. band — a ring
  13. season — of the year
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. band — a music group
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cell — in biology
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rush — to hurry

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