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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.

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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: band · spring · chip · row · trunk · rock

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rock — music
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. row — a line
  5. spring — the season
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. chip — to eat
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — for betting
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rock — a stone
  12. band — a ring
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. spring — a coil
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. band — a music group
  18. chip — in a computer

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