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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.

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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: rock · band · kid · fork · lie · pop · foot · net

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — child
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rock — music
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rock — a stone
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. band — a ring
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. foot — a measure
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pop — music
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kid — to tease
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — for catching

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