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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: band · fall · lie · chest · pitcher · jam · ground · ball

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. ball — a great time
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. lie — to recline
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ground — a position
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fall — the season
  24. band — a rubber band

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