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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: mate · bass · tube · track · spring · cap · date · pound

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tube — a container
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bass — the fish
  11. track — a path
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cap — a hat
  15. mate — a friend
  16. track — a song
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. spring — of water
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bass — low music
  23. spring — the season
  24. mate — to breed

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