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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: rest · lash · cold · fall · tube · object · bark · lean

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. tube — a container
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tube — the underground
  13. lean — thin
  14. object — to protest
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. fall — the season
  23. object — an aim
  24. tube — in a tire

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