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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · spring · root · drill · kid · net · squash · calf

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. spring — of water
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spring — a coil
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. kid — child
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. drill — army training
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. squash — to crush
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. root — of a plant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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