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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 · bass · game · firm · trunk · face · land · rash

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. firm — decided
  3. land — a country
  4. bass — the fish
  5. firm — a company
  6. spring — of water
  7. game — wild animals
  8. firm — steady
  9. land — ground
  10. rash — a series
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. face — to point toward
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bass — low music
  22. spring — the season
  23. land — to come down
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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