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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: spring · tube · staff · bound · track · wave · cold · net

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. spring — of water
  6. staff — a stick
  7. tube — a container
  8. bound — certain
  9. net — in sport
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. staff — employees
  14. cold — an illness
  15. track — a path
  16. bound — obliged
  17. staff — employees
  18. tube — the underground
  19. net — for catching
  20. track — to keep track
  21. spring — the season
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. track — a song
  24. net — after costs

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