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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · kid · net · row · trunk · key · band

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. spring — of water
  7. net — in sport
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. content — happy
  10. key — in music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. net — after costs
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. kid — to tease
  16. key — the most important part
  17. band — a music group
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. key — for a lock
  21. content — the amount
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — child
  24. net — for catching

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