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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. band — a ring
  8. court — for sport
  9. scale — in music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lean — thin
  12. court — of a king
  13. band — a music group
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stem — to come from
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. court — of law
  18. scale — size or range
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lie — to recline
  21. last — final
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. band — a rubber band

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