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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 120 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: kid · ground · lash · tube · staff · spell · coach · saw

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. kid — child
  3. staff — a stick
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. spell — a short time
  10. saw — the tool
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. spell — magic
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spell — letters
  17. staff — employees
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — to tease
  20. tube — the underground
  21. ground — a position
  22. staff — employees
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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