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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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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: deal · season · pit · prune · band · land · lie · face

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — in a race
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. land — a country
  14. lie — to recline
  15. land — ground
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. face — to confront
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. face — to point toward
  21. deal — to handle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pit — a hole
  24. face — part of the head

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