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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: cap · hand · tube · chest · foot · lash · roll · spring

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — help
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tube — a container
  10. spring — the season
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. roll — a list
  15. foot — a measure
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. roll — a cake
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cap — of ice
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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