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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: chest · court · lean · mate · cue · tube · wind · lash

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lean — thin
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mate — to breed
  9. court — of law
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cue — a hint
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mate — a friend
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. court — of a king
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cue — for pool
  24. court — for sport

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