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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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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: cell · bay · mate · bound · cold · bat · rest · cap

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rest — a break
  15. bound — certain
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. rest — what's left

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