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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: fall · present · rash · cold · lash · can · band · wake

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. rash — a series
  3. fall — the season
  4. rash — hasty
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. can — to be able to
  8. band — a ring
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fall — to drop
  14. can — a tin
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. cold — not warm
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. present — the time now
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cold — an illness

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