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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: roll · lean · saw · land · trunk · spring · shower · mark

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spring — a coil
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mark — a grade
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. mark — a trace
  9. saw — the tool
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — a list
  12. land — a country
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — ground
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. land — to come down
  17. lean — thin
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. shower — rain
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — the season
  24. saw — the tool

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