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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 · pitcher · mine · pound · cap · trunk · rest · fork

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rest — a break
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spring — of water
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pound — a weight
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rest — what's left

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