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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 116 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: tear · hand · bear · lash · cabinet · cell · spring · rash

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cell — in biology
  3. spring — the season
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spring — of water
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. hand — help
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. tear — to rip

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