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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 116 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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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: bank · trunk · content · pound · rest · spring · kid · tube

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. content — the amount
  3. bank — for money
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rest — a break
  7. spring — of water
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spring — the season
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — happy
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pound — a weight
  18. spring — a coil
  19. kid — child
  20. bank — for money
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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