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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 120 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 · rock · trunk · bore · court · ball · branch · bark

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. court — for sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. court — of a king
  10. ball — a dance
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ball — a great time
  14. branch — a division
  15. court — of law
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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