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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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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: kid · cap · bear · lie · tube · club · spring · bass

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. club — for golf
  7. cap — of ice
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — low music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tube — the underground
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kid — child
  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