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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: mark · band · stand · snap · court · wax · season · lie

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stand — to bear
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. snap — to click
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. mark — a trace
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. band — a music group
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. season — in sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. wax — to grow
  24. court — of law

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