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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 116 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: bay · tear · hide · scale · lie · land · band · clip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. scale — size or range
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tear — to rip
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. land — a country
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. land — ground
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. band — a music group
  15. scale — in music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. lie — to recline
  19. clip — a video
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a ring
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. band — a rubber band

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