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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: can · spring · bass · cap · mug · cold · rest · ground

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — a tin
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bass — the fish
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mug — a face
  21. spring — the season
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rest — a break
  24. spring — of water

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