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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: mouse · land · spring · race · sharp · trunk · court · rest

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — ground
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. land — a country
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — to come down
  16. rest — a break
  17. sharp — clever
  18. race — humankind
  19. spring — a coil
  20. race — a contest
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. rest — what's left
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mouse — the animal

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