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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: band · lean · court · capital · fall · content · perch · lie

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. content — the amount
  3. band — a ring
  4. lean — to bend
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fall — to drop
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. capital — money
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. lean — thin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — a city
  18. band — a music group
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — the season
  24. perch — the fish

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