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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spring — of water
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. season — in sport
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. snap — to click
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. season — of the year
  12. spring — a coil
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mate — a friend
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. file — a document
  22. race — a contest
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — the arms race

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