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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 116 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: season · bear · cold · mate · game · club · stick · pass

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. club — for golf
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. game — a match
  7. season — of the year
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pass — a permit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bear — the animal
  15. season — in sport
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. mate — to breed

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