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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: row · board · trunk · spring · ground · rule

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. board — a committee
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. board — to get on
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. spring — of water
  12. row — a line
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rule — government

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