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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: lie · band · chest · wind · firm · racket · season · plane

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. band — a music group
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. season — in sport
  7. firm — steady
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. firm — decided
  13. band — a ring
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chest — of your body
  19. firm — a company
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — a tool

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