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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 120 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: spring · land · ball · last · lie · wind · dip · net

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. net — for catching
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a dance
  7. land — to come down
  8. net — after costs
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — finally
  11. lie — to recline
  12. spring — a coil
  13. last — to go on
  14. dip — to sink
  15. last — final
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. land — a country
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. net — in sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  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