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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: bowl · cold · pass · cell · mate · foot

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — a measure
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. foot — part of the body

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