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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: saw · tear · land · tube · lash · net · season · lean

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — the underground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lean — thin
  7. season — of the year
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lean — to bend
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. tear — to rip
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. tube — a container
  18. season — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. net — after costs
  21. land — to come down
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. tear — from crying

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