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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 124 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 · swing · jam · stock · season · ball · arm · race

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cell — in biology
  7. race — humankind
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ball — a dance
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — the arms race
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. swing — to play on
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. stock — goods
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. season — of the year
  20. swing — music
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. race — a contest
  24. season — in sport

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