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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 120 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: season · stand · chest · cap · lie · trunk · band · pass

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chest — a box
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. lie — to recline
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cap — a hat
  12. pass — a permit
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. band — a ring
  16. cap — a lid
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. band — a music group
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. season — in sport
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. lie — an untruth

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