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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: board · mate · spring · rush · mine · tube · hide · net

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. board — a committee
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — for catching
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. net — after costs
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. mine — for digging
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. spring — of water
  14. mate — a friend
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — in sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tube — a container
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. mate — to breed
  24. board — to get on

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