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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. land — a country
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. cold — an illness
  10. march — music
  11. land — to come down
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. land — ground
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — the month
  24. season — of the year

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