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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 · pit · mate · cold · kick · rule

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — of the year
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pit — in a race
  7. season — in sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rule — government
  15. mate — to breed
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mate — a partner

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