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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: season · bowl · wound · sharp · rock · race · cell · perch

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. sharp — clever
  6. race — a contest
  7. season — of the year
  8. cell — a phone
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. season — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. race — humankind
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cell — in a prison

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