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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: pop · band · board · spring · object · file · lie · trunk

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. file — a line of people
  3. band — a ring
  4. object — an aim
  5. band — a music group
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pop — soda
  10. board — to get on
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. lie — to recline
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pop — music
  19. file — a document
  20. object — to protest
  21. file — a tool
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. object — a thing
  24. board — a committee

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