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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: lash · wind · stand · chest · wave · last · prune · swing

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. last — final
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. last — finally
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — to go on
  19. swing — music
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stand — to bear
  24. chest — a box

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