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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: spring · shower · foot · court · rock · staff · trunk · coach

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. spring — of water
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. spring — the season
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — of law
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spring — a coil
  11. staff — employees
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rock — a stone
  14. court — for sport
  15. shower — rain
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of a king
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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