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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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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: tube · leaves · club · land · lash · spring · squash · season

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tube — the underground
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — the season
  15. club — for golf
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spring — a coil
  18. club — a group
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. season — in sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — a container
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — lets stay

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