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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: wind · rash · race · lie · pop · band · lash · bat

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. race — the arms race
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. pop — music
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. band — a music group
  23. pop — soda
  24. wind — to turn a key

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