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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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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: mark · spring · rest · fork · rule · wound · tube · trunk

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spring — of water
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rule — government
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mark — a trace
  11. spring — the season
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wound — an injury

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