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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: lie · cold · season · prune · mark · nail · band · jam

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. season — in sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a ring
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mark — a grade
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. band — a music group
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. season — of the year
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. jam — in traffic

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