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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 · spell · bound · spring · hand · pitch · bear · content

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. spring — of water
  9. bound — obliged
  10. spell — a short time
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. spring — the season
  14. content — the amount
  15. bound — certain
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. content — happy
  21. bound — tied together
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — videos and posts

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