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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: coach · net · last · lash · wind · pop · pass · land

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. land — a country
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pop — music
  10. net — after costs
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — for catching
  15. pop — soda
  16. pass — a permit
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — final
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — finally
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pop — to visit

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