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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: cold · spell · can · bank · pound · trunk · tube · spring

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spell — letters
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. tube — a container
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. can — a tin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bank — of a river
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. bank — for money
  22. spring — the season
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bank — for money

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