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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. land — ground
  3. suit — clothes
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. key — in music
  10. ball — a great time
  11. last — final
  12. ball — a dance
  13. last — to go on
  14. season — in sport
  15. mine — for digging
  16. suit — to fit
  17. land — to come down
  18. suit — in cards
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — a country
  22. last — finally
  23. key — the most important part
  24. wind — moving air

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