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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 116 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: suit · mine · bear · tube · cold · spring · straw · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. club — a group
  8. bear — the animal
  9. suit — to fit
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for golf
  14. cold — an illness
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. suit — in cards
  21. mine — for digging
  22. suit — clothes
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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