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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: mate · last · season · stick · cell · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cell — in biology
  10. last — finally
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — to breed
  13. season — of the year
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. last — to go on
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. season — in sport

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