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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: wound · dip · game · court · last · foot · lash · band

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. game — a match
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. wound — an injury
  9. foot — a measure
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — finally
  12. court — of law
  13. wound — an injury
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. band — a ring
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — final
  18. dip — to sink
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. band — a music group
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  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