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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: face · band · lean · march · cold · craft · fine · lie

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. march — the month
  3. face — to confront
  4. craft — boats
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. fine — all right
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fine — high quality
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — the month
  15. lean — thin
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. band — a ring
  18. craft — a skill
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — music
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lie — to recline

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