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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
468
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: spring · hide · wave · board · dip · clip · cell · net

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. net — in sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. spring — a coil
  16. board — a committee
  17. dip — to sink
  18. spring — the season
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. clip — a video
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. net — for catching

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