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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 · trunk · cell · patient · key · field · row · cap

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. field — farmland
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cap — a lid
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a line
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. spring — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — a phone
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. key — the most important part
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. cap — of ice
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. spring — a coil
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cell — in biology

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