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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. game — a match
  3. pit — in a race
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. season — in sport
  7. spell — a short time
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. land — a country
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — humankind
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — ground
  17. race — a contest
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. land — to come down
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — of the year
  24. game — wild animals

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