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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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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: bowl · trunk · tube · mine · ball · spell · last · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. last — final
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — magic
  7. tube — the underground
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — to go on
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. tube — a container
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. spell — letters
  19. last — finally
  20. ball — a great time
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bowl — a dish

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