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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: jam · net · game · season · tube · wind · spring · pop

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tube — a container
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. spring — a coil
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. season — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. net — in sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pop — soda
  13. net — after costs
  14. tube — the underground
  15. game — wild animals
  16. season — of the year
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — to visit
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pop — music
  24. spring — the season

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