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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: court · chair · fine · spring · last · mine · lie · season

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. spring — of water
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spring — a coil
  8. last — final
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — the season
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. lie — to recline
  14. season — of the year
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. season — in sport
  19. fine — all right
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — finally
  24. court — for sport

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