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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mouse · cold · date · bass · spring · mark

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. date — the fruit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. spring — the season
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bass — low music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spring — of water

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