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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 116 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: last · dip · wind · land · field · lie · spring · current

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. dip — to sink
  3. field — a subject
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. land — a country
  9. wind — moving air
  10. current — happening now
  11. lie — to recline
  12. last — to go on
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. land — ground
  15. field — farmland
  16. current — electric
  17. field — for sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. current — of water
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spring — the season
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. spring — of water

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