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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: bowl · lie · trunk · wake · cell · band · saw · mate

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wake — a trail
  5. band — a music group
  6. lie — to recline
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cell — a phone
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. band — a ring
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cell — in biology
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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