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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. spring — the season
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — of water
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fall — to drop
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bulb — for light
  12. date — the fruit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fall — the season
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spring — a coil

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