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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: pitch · band · fall · land · pound · lie · prune · bound

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bound — certain
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bound — tied together
  5. band — a music group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. land — a country
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitch — completely
  11. lie — to recline
  12. fall — to drop
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — ground
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. band — a ring

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