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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — ground
  4. suit — clothes
  5. saw — the tool
  6. suit — in cards
  7. band — a music group
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spring — of water
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. suit — to fit
  17. fine — high quality
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. land — a country
  21. spring — a coil
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — to come down

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