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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: bat · firm · lie · march · ground · bay · band · lash

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. march — music
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. band — a ring
  5. firm — a company
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. march — the month
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. band — a music group
  21. firm — steady
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — for baseball

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