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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: rash · season · chest · cell · rule · swing · race · wake

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rash — hasty
  3. chest — a box
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wake — a trail
  6. season — in sport
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rash — a series
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cell — in biology
  13. race — a contest
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. swing — music
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rule — a law
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. season — of the year
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. race — humankind
  24. rule — government

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