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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: band · rest · straw · march · calf · cold · lie · board

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a ring
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lie — to recline
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — a break
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. band — a music group
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. march — the month

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