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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 116 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: spring · deal · lie · cold · rash · snap · mate · tube

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — of water
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mate — a partner
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. lie — to recline
  23. deal — to handle
  24. snap — to click

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