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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 120 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: cold · mouse · spring · bass · board · dip · sharp · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. board — to get on
  9. tube — a container
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bass — the fish
  13. dip — to sink
  14. spring — a coil
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. board — a committee
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spring — the season
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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