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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ball · cell · net · lie · band · face

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cell — a phone
  8. net — in sport
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — part of the head
  15. net — after costs
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — an untruth

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