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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 116 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 · mine · deal · band · game · net · bound · cap

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. band — a music group
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. net — for catching
  9. bound — obliged
  10. lie — to recline
  11. game — a match
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bound — certain
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cap — a lid
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cap — of ice
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. band — a ring

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