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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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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: rule · race · season · fall · bay · content · net · game

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — the season
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — after costs
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. rule — a law
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. race — humankind
  12. content — happy
  13. rule — government
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — for catching
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — in sport
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. season — in sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. game — a match

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