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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · court · leaves · cold · last · wind · mine · bass

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — low music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — final
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. last — finally
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. court — of law
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bass — the fish
  23. court — of a king
  24. leaves — of a tree

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