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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · race · game · bear · march · rash

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. race — humankind
  5. bear — the animal
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bear — the animal
  10. march — music
  11. game — a match
  12. march — the month
  13. game — wild animals
  14. race — a contest
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty

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