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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bank — for money
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. season — in sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. game — a match
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bank — for money
  23. race — a contest
  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