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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: wound · pop · last · cap · spring · bear · net · mug

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mug — to rob
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — the season
  5. last — to go on
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pop — to visit
  10. net — after costs
  11. bear — the animal
  12. net — in sport
  13. pop — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. last — final
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. pop — soda
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spring — of water
  22. mug — a face
  23. last — finally
  24. cap — a lid

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