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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · cold · leaves · track · season · ball · racket · game

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. season — in sport
  6. track — a song
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — a match
  9. ball — a great time
  10. last — final
  11. cold — not warm
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — finally
  14. track — a path
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — to go on
  21. ball — a dance
  22. game — wild animals
  23. track — to keep track
  24. racket — for tennis

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