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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: game · saw · spring · face · swing · trunk · content · rush

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. spring — the season
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. game — wild animals
  6. face — to confront
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. content — happy
  10. face — part of the head
  11. spring — a coil
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — of water
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. swing — music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. swing — in golf
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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