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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. staff — employees
  3. lie — to recline
  4. net — for catching
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. net — after costs
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — to go on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — music
  12. staff — a stick
  13. mine — for digging
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. last — finally
  16. tear — from crying
  17. net — in sport
  18. staff — employees
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. leaves — to go away

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