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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 116 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: season · saw · band · bat · stick · chair · deal · race

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — a contest
  7. season — of the year
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chair — a leader
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. band — a music group
  14. season — in sport
  15. deal — to handle
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. race — humankind
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. band — a ring

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