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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 · board · bat · land · trunk · lean · mark

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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. land — a country
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bat — the animal
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. land — to come down
  7. board — a committee
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. land — ground
  12. band — a ring
  13. board — to get on
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lean — thin
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mark — a trace
  20. lean — to bend
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. band — a music group
  23. mark — a grade
  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