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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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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 · board · shower · track · game · bear · lash

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. track — to keep track
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. board — to get on
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. shower — to wash
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. board — a committee
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. shower — rain
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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