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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: mine · mate · cue · drill · last · season · bulb · face

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. season — of the year
  3. last — final
  4. bulb — for light
  5. drill — army training
  6. season — in sport
  7. mate — a friend
  8. last — to go on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. face — to confront
  17. cue — a hint
  18. last — finally
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mate — to breed
  22. face — to point toward
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. drill — a practice

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