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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: capital · court · mouse · season · rash · jam · last · mate

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. jam — in traffic
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rash — hasty
  5. last — final
  6. season — in sport
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. last — finally
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. capital — a city
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. capital — money
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. court — for sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — a series
  21. court — of a king
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. season — of the year
  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