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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: bear · land · tear · spring · club · lash · tube · calf

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. bear — the animal
  5. club — a group
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. land — a country
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tube — a container
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bear — the animal
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. land — to come down
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — the season
  24. tube — the underground

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