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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 · last · land · mug · racket · foot · pitch

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — a partner
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. mug — to rob
  6. land — ground
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. last — finally
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cold — not warm
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pitch — completely
  16. land — to come down
  17. mug — a cup
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cold — an illness
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. foot — the bottom

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