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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 116 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: net · season · last · mate · fork · mouse · game · mine

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — a match
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mate — to breed
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mine — for digging
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — in sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. season — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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