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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: spell · roll · straw · date · cold · mate · last · charge

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. mate — a friend
  3. last — finally
  4. spell — magic
  5. roll — a list
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. charge — electricity
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spell — letters
  11. charge — a price
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. charge — in control
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mate — a partner
  17. last — final
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. last — to go on
  21. roll — a cake
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — an illness

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