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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · cold · dip · lash · land · bear · band · rash

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — to come down
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — a series
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — ground
  11. scale — size or range
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. land — a country
  14. dip — to sink
  15. scale — in music
  16. bear — the animal
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rash — hasty
  20. band — a ring
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bear — to put up with

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