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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: ball · season · cabinet · roll · cold · pass · pop · net

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pop — soda
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. net — after costs
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pop — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. roll — a list
  11. net — for catching
  12. cold — an illness
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ball — a dance
  20. net — in sport
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. season — in sport

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