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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: lie · march · band · trunk · content · last · fall · coach

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. last — to go on
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. last — final
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. march — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — the month
  20. last — finally
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. content — happy
  24. fall — to drop

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