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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 116 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: content · spring · band · court · trunk · ruler · game · fork

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. band — a music group
  4. fork — in a road
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — of water
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. game — a match
  11. band — a ring
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spring — the season
  15. content — happy
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spring — a coil
  20. court — of a king
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. band — a rubber band

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