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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: wind · last · bay · mate · mine · plane · net · drill

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — final
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. plane — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. drill — the tool
  9. last — finally
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a friend
  12. drill — army training
  13. mate — a partner
  14. net — in sport
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. last — to go on

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