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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
468
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: land · tube · chest · wound · mate · wave · mouse · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tube — the underground
  5. land — ground
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — a partner
  10. tube — a container
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — the season
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mate — to breed
  22. chest — a box
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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