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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 · last · bear · leaves · roll · mine · race · wind

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bear — the animal
  4. roll — a list
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — for digging
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. last — final
  14. last — finally
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. season — in sport
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bear — the animal

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