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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: lie · scale · band · court · bat · game · last · wave

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. court — of a king
  6. lie — to recline
  7. last — to go on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. last — final
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. game — wild animals
  15. last — finally
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. court — of law
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. scale — in music
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. court — for sport
  24. game — a match

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