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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: band · chest · bay · ball · clip · cabinet · root · lie

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. band — a ring
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. root — of a plant
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — to cut
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. root — the cause
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. band — a music group
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a word
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bay — a horse colour

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