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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: wax · rash · wound · fall · lash · spring · tube · drill

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rash — a series
  11. drill — army training
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — the season
  14. rash — hasty
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fall — the season
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fall — to drop
  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