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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 116 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 · chip · pass · firm · season · court · face · cold

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. firm — steady
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — for sport
  6. mate — a partner
  7. firm — decided
  8. face — to point toward
  9. season — in sport
  10. pass — a permit
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. season — of the year
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. face — part of the head
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — not warm
  21. face — to confront
  22. season — to add flavour
  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