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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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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: lie · tube · bark · fan · spring · lean · last · mouse

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lean — thin
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. spring — the season
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lean — to bend
  12. last — finally
  13. bark — to shout
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. last — final
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lie — to recline
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. tube — a container

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