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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. race — humankind
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. club — a group
  10. season — in sport
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. deal — to handle
  14. club — for golf
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. season — of the year
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pop — soda

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