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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 · bowl · leaves · staff · date · straw · march · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cold — an illness
  5. date — the fruit
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. march — the month
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. march — the month
  12. staff — a stick
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. staff — employees
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. march — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cold — not warm
  23. staff — employees
  24. leaves — of a tree

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