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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: mate · hand · cold · bear · bat · pass · drill · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bear — the animal
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. hand — help
  24. drill — army training

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