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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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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 · leaves · lie · swing · present · fall · mug · kid

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lie — to recline
  4. present — there
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. kid — child
  8. mug — a cup
  9. band — a music group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mug — a face
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. band — a ring
  15. present — the time now
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. swing — in golf
  20. present — a gift
  21. mug — to rob
  22. swing — music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fall — the season

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