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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: lean · lash · roll · band · swing · tear · wave · content

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. roll — a list
  5. band — a ring
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. content — the amount
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. swing — to play on
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. band — a music group
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. tear — to rip
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — happy
  24. wave — of the sea

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