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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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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: jam · spring · wave · pass · bass · wound · cold · pop

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. pop — to visit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bass — low music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pop — soda
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — of water
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pass — a permit
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pop — music
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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