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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: land · bass · spring · hide · lie · face · band · object

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — ground
  4. spring — of water
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. face — part of the head
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a ring
  11. object — a thing
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. face — to confront
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bass — the fish
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. land — a country
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. spring — 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