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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 120 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: coach · perch · band · pitcher · pop · lie · wound · land

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. lie — to recline
  2. wound — an injury
  3. land — ground
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. band — a music group
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. band — a ring
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pop — music
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — a country
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — to come down
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pop — soda
  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