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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: wake · cell · can · club · band · game · cap · lie

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — in biology
  4. club — for golf
  5. band — a ring
  6. can — a tin
  7. wake — a trail
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cap — a hat
  11. lie — to recline
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. club — a group
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. band — a music group
  19. game — a match
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. can — a tin
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. lie — an untruth

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