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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: net · band · march · roll · lie · arm · pitch · bay

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. net — for catching
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a cake
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. net — in sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. net — after costs
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — the month
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. roll — a list
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. march — music

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