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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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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: lie · perch · club · cell · kick · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. perch — the fish
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. lie — to recline
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. band — a music group
  11. kick — in football
  12. cell — in biology
  13. band — a ring
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. club — a group
  16. cell — a phone
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — in a prison

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