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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: game · face · lean · rash · band · trunk · saw · last

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. band — a music group
  2. lean — to bend
  3. face — part of the head
  4. saw — the tool
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. last — to go on
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. saw — the tool
  11. face — to confront
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lean — thin
  14. rash — a series
  15. band — a ring
  16. face — to point toward
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — final
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. last — finally
  23. rash — on the skin
  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