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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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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: court · last · pound · lie · mine · hide · wind · root

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pound — a weight
  3. court — of a king
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — to go on
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. wind — moving air
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — final
  19. court — of law
  20. root — of a word
  21. last — finally
  22. court — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mine — for digging

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