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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 116 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: swing · prune · degree · mine · game · lash · band · last

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. degree — an amount
  7. game — wild animals
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. band — a ring
  12. swing — music
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. degree — from a university
  17. last — final
  18. band — a music group
  19. degree — temperature
  20. last — finally
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. last — to go on
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. prune — the fruit

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