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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: sharp · race · season · rash · rule · fall · shower · game

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. fall — the season
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. season — of the year
  11. game — wild animals
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. rule — government
  15. rash — hasty
  16. game — a match
  17. shower — rain
  18. race — a contest
  19. shower — to wash
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rash — a series
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. race — humankind

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