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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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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: suit · tear · court · board · last · mine · lean · season

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. last — finally
  3. suit — in cards
  4. board — to get on
  5. lean — thin
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. court — of law
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lean — to bend
  11. court — of a king
  12. tear — from crying
  13. last — final
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — for sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. last — to go on
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. board — a committee
  22. mine — for digging
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. suit — clothes

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