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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: field · suit · cold · season · saw · cabinet · capital · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. suit — to fit
  4. field — for sport
  5. last — finally
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. capital — money
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — to go on
  10. season — in sport
  11. suit — in cards
  12. capital — a city
  13. season — of the year
  14. suit — clothes
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. field — a subject
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. field — farmland
  24. capital — a big letter

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