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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. last — final
  5. staff — employees
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. last — finally
  13. lie — to recline
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — to go on
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. saw — the tool
  23. row — to paddle
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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