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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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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: game · race · season · last · perch · rock · suit · bat

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. rock — music
  3. suit — to fit
  4. race — humankind
  5. last — finally
  6. game — wild animals
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — final
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — of the year
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rock — a stone
  17. race — the arms race
  18. suit — in cards
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. season — in sport
  23. last — to go on
  24. season — to add flavour

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