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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fine — all right
  3. wind — moving air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. last — finally
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. key — in music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fine — high quality
  18. key — for a lock
  19. mine — for digging
  20. scale — size or range
  21. last — final
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — to go on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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