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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: tube · fall · pound · cell · lash · swing · root · spell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spell — letters
  3. root — of a word
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. fall — the season
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. swing — to play on
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. swing — music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cell — in a prison

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