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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: wind · can · lash · game · cold · mine · lean · toast

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. toast — bread
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — to bend
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. game — wild animals
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. can — a tin
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lean — thin
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. game — a match
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cold — not warm

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