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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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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: march · cue · rest · cold · mate · trunk · nail · last

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. last — final
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cue — a signal
  6. mate — a friend
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — the month
  14. rest — a break
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — not warm
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. march — the month
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cue — a hint
  23. mate — a partner
  24. rest — what's left

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