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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bat · pop · board · band · mine · fall · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. board — to get on
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a music group
  5. mine — for digging
  6. lie — to recline
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pop — to visit
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — a committee
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pop — soda
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pop — music
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. arm — part of the body

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