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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: fine · last · wind · hide · pop · saw · calf · game

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. last — finally
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — final
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. game — a match
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — high quality
  21. last — to go on
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. pop — music
  24. game — a kind of play

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