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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: arm · capital · lie · roll · field · band · stick · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. lie — to recline
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. field — for sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. field — farmland
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. field — a subject
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. roll — a cake
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. band — a music group
  19. roll — a list
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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