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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: game · pitcher · spring · trunk · foot · hand · drill · mug

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mug — a cup
  3. game — a match
  4. drill — the tool
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. spring — of water
  7. foot — a measure
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mug — to rob
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. spring — the season
  20. mug — a face
  21. game — wild animals
  22. hand — help
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. trunk — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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