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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 · trunk · coach · ground · pit · stand · tube · game

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. spring — the season
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — crushed
  11. tube — the underground
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. ground — a position
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tube — a container
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. trunk — of a tree

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