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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: band · hand · foot · mine · rush · lash · lean · race

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. band — a music group
  3. rush — hurry
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. race — a contest
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. race — humankind
  9. foot — a measure
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lean — to bend
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. band — a ring
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lean — thin
  22. mine — for digging
  23. hand — in cards
  24. race — the arms race

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