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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 120 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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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: season · bear · cell · straw · ruler · pass · last · cold

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. last — to go on
  3. season — in sport
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cold — an illness
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. last — finally
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. last — final
  23. season — of the year
  24. ruler — for measuring

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