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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · pit · mark · last · spring · fine · cell · mine

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — all right
  4. pit — in a race
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. last — to go on
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pit — a hole
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mark — a grade
  13. spring — of water
  14. last — final
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. fine — high quality
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fine — a penalty

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