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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 · rash · kick · chest · ground · bound · lash · pitch

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitch — completely
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — in football
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rash — a series
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. band — a music group
  23. ground — a position
  24. pitch — a sports field

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