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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: fall · rule · band · wound · game · lash · racket · squash

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fall — the season
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wound — an injury
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rule — a law
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. rule — government
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — the sport
  15. band — a ring
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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