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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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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: last · lean · foot · band · lash · pop · prune · ground

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — thin
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pop — soda
  8. last — finally
  9. band — a music group
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. ground — a position
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. ground — crushed
  14. lean — to bend
  15. last — to go on
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. foot — a measure
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pop — to visit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pop — music
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. band — a ring
  24. lean — to rest against

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