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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 116 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: tube · bear · pound · bore · vault · squash · cold · spring

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. tube — the underground
  3. squash — the sport
  4. spring — the season
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — a coil
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spring — of water
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — a container
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — a safe
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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