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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. land — ground
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. land — a country
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. land — to come down
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. club — for golf
  14. spring — of water
  15. club — a group
  16. tube — a container
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. tube — in a tire

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