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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · bear · trunk · march · ground · mark · spring · game

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. march — the month
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. game — a match
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — letters
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — music
  19. spring — the season
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ground — the earth

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