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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: season · date · racket · race · nail · cue · pound · last

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pound — a weight
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. race — humankind
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — finally
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cue — for pool
  14. race — a contest
  15. season — in sport
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. date — the fruit
  19. last — final
  20. season — of the year
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. last — to go on

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