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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: rash · band · jam · tear · bowl · wake · face · prune

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. face — part of the head
  7. band — a ring
  8. face — to point toward
  9. tear — to rip
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. face — to confront
  15. rash — a series
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wake — a trail

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