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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: can · cold · pit · perch · leaves · band · nail · lie

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. can — a tin
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — a tin
  10. band — a music group
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pit — in a race
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. perch — the fish
  23. lie — an untruth
  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