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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: mate · craft · clip · spring · pop · trunk · race · game

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. race — humankind
  3. spring — of water
  4. game — a match
  5. race — the arms race
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — music
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pop — to visit
  15. craft — boats
  16. mate — a friend
  17. craft — a skill
  18. mate — to breed
  19. game — wild animals
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. race — a contest
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pop — soda
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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