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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 116 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: coach · last · cabinet · lie · wound · saw · row · net

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. wound — an injury
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. lie — to recline
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. row — a line
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. net — for catching
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — to paddle
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. last — finally
  24. saw — the tool

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