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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: mate · wound · band · club · land · chest · bay · lie

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. band — a music group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. land — to come down
  7. mate — a partner
  8. land — a country
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. band — a ring
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — to recline
  16. club — for golf
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. club — for dancing
  19. land — ground
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. chest — of your body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chest — a box

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