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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: mine · game · rash · trunk · last · season · safe · race

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. race — the arms race
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rash — a series
  8. race — humankind
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. race — a contest
  14. last — finally
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mine — for digging
  17. last — to go on
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. last — final
  21. season — of the year
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rash — on the skin

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