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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: spring · bark · trunk · last · pit · fall · drill · pop

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. last — finally
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. spring — of water
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pop — music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. last — final
  14. pit — in a race
  15. spring — a coil
  16. last — to go on
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. drill — army training
  19. fall — to drop
  20. drill — a practice
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — the season

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