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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — the amount
  7. net — in sport
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. last — finally
  13. net — after costs
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. net — for catching
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. last — to go on
  23. content — happy
  24. mine — for digging

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