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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: cold · ball · ruler · mate · row · chest · bay · season

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. season — of the year
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. season — in sport
  23. chest — a box
  24. row — a line

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