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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: squash · spring · craft · game · tube · club · cold · pound

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. spring — the season
  8. club — for golf
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — a group
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — boats
  16. cold — an illness
  17. squash — the sport
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spring — of water
  20. club — for dancing
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pound — a weight
  24. game — a match

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