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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: season · fan · rush · deal · mine · temple · race · content

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. race — a contest
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. deal — to handle
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rush — hurry
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. content — happy
  20. race — humankind
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — for digging
  24. temple — a place of worship

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