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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: ball · band · saw · land · trunk · lie · lean · pitch

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pitch — completely
  3. ball — a great time
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — a country
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. band — a ring
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. lean — to bend
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. land — ground
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lie — to recline
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. lean — to rest against

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