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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 120 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: arm · spring · scale · bat · firm · drill · game · trunk

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. firm — decided
  2. scale — size or range
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. firm — a company
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. spring — of water
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spring — the season
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. drill — army training
  20. firm — steady
  21. game — wild animals
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. scale — in music
  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