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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: cell · rush · season · scale · last · deal · band · race

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. scale — in music
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. scale — size or range
  6. season — in sport
  7. deal — to handle
  8. cell — in biology
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — finally
  11. season — of the year
  12. last — final
  13. cell — a phone
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — to go on
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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