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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: kid · spring · band · mark · march · temple · chip · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — of water
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. march — the month
  11. mark — a trace
  12. chip — to eat
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — the month
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. band — a ring
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. band — a music group
  24. temple — side of the head

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