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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: lean · season · lash · fall · hand · race · swing · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. swing — music
  4. hand — help
  5. race — a contest
  6. swing — in golf
  7. season — of the year
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. race — the arms race
  10. land — ground
  11. swing — to play on
  12. land — to come down
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lean — to bend
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. race — humankind
  17. fall — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lean — thin
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. fall — to drop

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