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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: squash · wind · band · jam · hand · face · prune · roll

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. hand — help
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — a cake
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. face — to confront
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — to trim
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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