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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: march · tube · trunk · court · stick · spring · board · kid

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. court — of law
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. spring — a coil
  8. board — to get on
  9. spring — the season
  10. tube — a container
  11. spring — of water
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — to tease
  23. march — music
  24. board — a committee

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