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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 112 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: mine · game · current · lie · drill · net · last · pit

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pit — a hole
  3. net — after costs
  4. current — of water
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. lie — to recline
  8. drill — army training
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pit — in a race
  12. current — happening now
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. net — in sport
  15. game — a match
  16. last — finally
  17. net — for catching
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. drill — the tool
  20. current — electric
  21. game — wild animals
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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