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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: band · roll · snap · cabinet · lash · wound · tear · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. wound — an injury
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. band — a ring
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to click
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. roll — a list
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. band — a music group
  19. roll — a cake
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. band — a rubber band

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