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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: hide · court · file · track · rash · trunk · spring · bear

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. court — of a king
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. file — a tool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. spring — the season
  11. court — for sport
  12. file — a document
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — a series
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. track — a path
  23. spring — of water
  24. rash — hasty

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