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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: can · mine · tube · rush · bear · ball · lash · cold

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tube — a container
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. can — to be able to
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bear — the animal
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ball — a great time
  17. can — a tin
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. tube — the underground
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tube — in a tire

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