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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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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: chest · bay · mine · pound · rest · fine · leaves · last

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. last — final
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — finally
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. rest — what's left
  10. last — to go on
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. fine — all right
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rest — a break
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. pound — a weight
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rest — what's left
  24. leaves — of a tree

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