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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: mine · wind · saw · lie · last · capital · season · pit

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell 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. mine — for digging
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pit — a hole
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. last — finally
  13. last — to go on
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. last — final
  22. season — in sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  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