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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 120 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: spring · shower · cold · bass · pound · trunk · rock · mouse

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. shower — rain
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bass — low music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — of water
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — music
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bass — the fish

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