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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: court · mate · cold · cell · rush · staff · pass · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mate — a partner
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — humankind
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. court — for sport
  11. pass — a permit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — of a king
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — of law
  24. pass — to spend time

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