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

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bass — the fish
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. lie — to recline
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. club — a group
  21. fork — in a road
  22. last — to go on
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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