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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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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: pit · stem · fine · court · pound · mine · last · tear

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fine — all right
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stem — to come from
  10. court — of a king
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. court — for sport
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. pound — a weight
  18. last — final
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — of law
  21. last — to go on
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fine — high quality
  24. stem — of a plant

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