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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: fall · net · spring · charge · trunk · mate · staff · date

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. charge — electricity
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. staff — a stick
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — the fruit
  8. staff — employees
  9. net — for catching
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. net — after costs
  12. staff — employees
  13. net — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. charge — in control
  16. spring — the season
  17. charge — a price
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fall — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mate — a friend
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — to breed
  24. date — on the calendar

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