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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 · bowl · degree · season · roll · cold · wave · suit

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. degree — from a university
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. suit — in cards
  12. season — of the year
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. suit — clothes
  17. roll — a list
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. roll — a cake
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — not warm
  23. suit — to fit
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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