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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: saw · wave · march · fall · mine · fork · last · mate

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. last — to go on
  3. mate — a friend
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fall — to drop
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mate — to breed
  15. last — final
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. last — finally
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — a partner
  24. march — music

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