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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: board · staff · bound · spring · swing · rock · trunk · mine

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — to play on
  4. board — a committee
  5. spring — the season
  6. board — to get on
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spring — of water
  9. bound — tied together
  10. swing — in golf
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. swing — music
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. staff — employees
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bound — obliged
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bound — certain
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. staff — employees

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