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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 · date · wave · prune · kid · roll · lie · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. roll — a list
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. date — the fruit
  6. kid — child
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kid — to tease
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mark — a trace
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a music group
  17. roll — a cake
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. band — a ring
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. lie — to recline

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