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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: trunk · stand · spring · bowl · pop · present · last · row

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pop — soda
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spring — a coil
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. last — to go on
  11. present — the time now
  12. stand — to bear
  13. present — a gift
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pop — music
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. row — a line
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pop — to visit
  21. present — there
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — final

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