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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: content · pop · ball · mine · season · race · arm · spring

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. content — the amount
  4. season — of the year
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. race — the arms race
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. season — in sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — a coil
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. content — happy
  20. race — humankind
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — music
  23. race — a contest
  24. pop — to visit

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