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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · cold · club · kick · bank · last · tube · fine

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fine — high quality
  7. last — final
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — in football
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. last — finally
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. club — a group
  17. bank — of a river
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — to go on
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. club — for golf
  23. bank — for money
  24. kick — a thrill

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