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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 116 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. spring — the season
  3. spell — magic
  4. land — a country
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spell — a short time
  7. track — a song
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spring — of water
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — music
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. track — to keep track
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tube — the underground
  20. spell — letters
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cold — not warm
  24. track — a path

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