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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 120 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: rash · content · game · stand · bay · mate · cell · drill

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. content — happy
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rash — a series
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. drill — a practice
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mate — to breed
  19. game — a match
  20. content — the amount
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. content — videos and posts

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