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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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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 · land · cell · race · bat · fan · row · wind

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. land — a country
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. row — a line
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. season — in sport
  12. race — a contest
  13. land — ground
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — of the year
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — humankind
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cell — a phone

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