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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: drill · rash · straw · cell · season · ball · mate · present

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mate — to breed
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rash — hasty
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cell — in biology
  8. season — in sport
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mate — a partner
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. present — a gift
  15. drill — a practice
  16. season — of the year
  17. cell — a phone
  18. present — the time now
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. present — there
  24. drill — army training

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