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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: trunk · rest · bound · fork · spring · bank · pound · fall

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. spring — of water
  3. bank — for money
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. spring — the season
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bank — for money
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — a weight
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bank — of a river
  21. fall — the season
  22. bound — certain
  23. rest — a break
  24. fork — in a road

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