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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
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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: hand · bay · season · game · cold · mug · rest · cell

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mug — a face
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. game — a match
  14. season — of the year
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mug — to rob
  17. cell — a phone
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mug — a cup
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cell — in biology
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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