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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: cue · game · season · track · mate · bear · cold · last

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. last — finally
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — a friend
  8. last — final
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mate — a partner
  12. game — a match
  13. last — to go on
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cold — an illness
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. cue — for pool
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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