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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bound — obliged
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. lie — to recline
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bound — certain
  10. band — a ring
  11. bound — tied together
  12. fall — to drop
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fall — the season
  18. band — a music group

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