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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. race — a contest
  5. scale — size or range
  6. race — humankind
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cell — a phone
  9. race — the arms race
  10. scale — in music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. spring — of water
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spring — the season
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. spring — a coil
  22. season — in sport
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. arm — part of the body

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