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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 120 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: band · rash · lean · fan · lie · leaves · cell · prune

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rash — a series
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. band — a music group
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. lie — to recline
  18. band — a ring
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cell — in biology

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