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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. race — humankind
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. season — of the year
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. march — music
  11. can — a tin
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. rash — a series
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fine — all right
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. march — the month
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — the month

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