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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: hand · band · cap · lash · ground · pound · swing · wax

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. band — a music group
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cap — a lid
  18. swing — music
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — crushed
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. ground — a position

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