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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · bear · spring · net · staff · fall · lash · bulb

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bulb — for light
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bear — the animal
  12. net — for catching
  13. spring — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — of water
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. staff — employees
  24. fall — to drop

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