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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: prune · face · fall · game · rash · rush · band · wave

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. face — to confront
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rash — a series
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — to trim
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a ring
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. face — to point toward
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. game — wild animals

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