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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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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: land · lash · tube · kick · lie · swing · bay · cold

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. tube — the underground
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. swing — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. lie — to recline
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — ground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. tube — a container
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. land — a country
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bay — a horse colour

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