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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 · cap · net · object · toast · cold · game · last

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. net — after costs
  3. object — to protest
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mate — a partner
  9. game — a match
  10. cap — a lid
  11. object — a thing
  12. last — to go on
  13. object — an aim
  14. cap — of ice
  15. toast — bread
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cap — a hat
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. last — finally
  20. net — for catching
  21. mate — to breed
  22. last — final
  23. mate — a friend
  24. net — in sport

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