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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: march · straw · game · race · wind · cap · season · deal

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wind — moving air
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. march — the month
  7. race — humankind
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. season — in sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — a contest
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. season — of the year

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