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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 120 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: cell · march · band · lie · fall · staff · craft · pop

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lie — to recline
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a music group
  6. craft — boats
  7. cell — in biology
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. pop — music
  10. cell — a phone
  11. staff — employees
  12. fall — to drop
  13. band — a ring
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. craft — a skill
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. staff — employees
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pop — soda
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pop — to visit

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