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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: lean · cold · lash · club · face · prune · band · hand

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hand — help
  9. band — a ring
  10. prune — to trim
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. face — to confront
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. face — to point toward
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — part of the head
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. club — for golf
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. lean — thin
  23. club — a group
  24. lean — to bend

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