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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: rest · tube · race · season · fall · cold · rush · ball

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. race — a contest
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — humankind
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — a container
  16. season — in sport
  17. ball — a dance
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rest — a break
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fall — to drop

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