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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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Word bank
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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: content · lash · mate · spring · stand · tube · wave · cold

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. content — the amount
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. mate — a partner
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stand — to bear
  14. spring — the season
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. content — happy
  19. tube — the underground
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cold — the Cold War

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