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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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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: bay · court · wound · leaves · land · mine · season · saw

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — of the year
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. land — a country
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. saw — the tool
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. court — of a king
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. court — of law
  13. land — to come down
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wound — an injury
  16. season — in sport
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wound — an injury
  19. court — for sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. land — ground
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. saw — the tool

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