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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: chair · roll · net · lie · band · court · fall · kick

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a ring
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. court — of a king
  6. band — a music group
  7. net — for catching
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kick — in football
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. court — of law
  12. net — in sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. net — after costs
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — for sport
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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