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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: bay · spell · season · pound · cold · firm · mine · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pound — a weight
  3. season — in sport
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. firm — a company
  7. last — finally
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — letters
  11. last — final
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. firm — decided
  17. season — of the year
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. firm — steady
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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