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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: racket · drill · club · tube · spring · trunk · track · kid

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. track — a path
  4. tube — a container
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. track — to keep track
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. drill — the tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. track — a song
  19. kid — to tease
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. spring — a coil

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