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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. net — in sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. file — a line of people
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. land — a country
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. net — after costs
  13. tube — a container
  14. hand — help
  15. tube — the underground
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. net — for catching
  18. file — a document
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. lash — to lash out

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