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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: cold · wind · lash · craft · leaves · bear · tube · rush

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. craft — boats
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — a container
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rush — hurry
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cold — not warm

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