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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: cold · lean · pound · ball · lash · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rash — a series
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lean — thin
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pound — to hit hard

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