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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. net — for catching
  4. last — to go on
  5. lie — to recline
  6. last — finally
  7. net — in sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — of the year
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. season — in sport
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. net — after costs
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. board — a committee
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. board — to get on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — for sport
  23. pound — a weight
  24. court — of a king

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