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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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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: season · court · deal · cold · craft · cell · race · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. season — in sport
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. craft — a skill
  9. season — of the year
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — humankind
  13. court — of a king
  14. race — the arms race
  15. craft — boats
  16. cell — a phone
  17. can — a tin
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. can — to be able to
  24. court — of law

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