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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: land · fork · last · saw · wind · mine · suit · scale

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. suit — to fit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — finally
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. scale — in music
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. suit — clothes
  15. last — to go on
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mine — for digging
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. suit — in cards
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — a country

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