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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: drill · snap · charge · bass · spring · branch · tube · cold

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. snap — to click
  3. branch — a division
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — a container
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spring — of water
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bass — low music
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. drill — a practice
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bass — the fish
  20. charge — a price
  21. tube — the underground
  22. spring — the season
  23. charge — in control
  24. cold — an illness

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