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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · bat · fall · lash · spring · trunk · roll · arm

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. tube — a container
  3. spring — the season
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — of water
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tube — the underground
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fall — to drop
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. roll — a list
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — on a roll

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