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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: mate · cold · capital · nail · rest · last · season · racket

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. cold — an illness
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. season — in sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mate — a partner
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mate — a friend
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. last — to go on
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — not warm
  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