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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 116 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: land · ground · field · content · craft · lash · trunk · spring

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spring — the season
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. field — farmland
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — a subject
  11. spring — of water
  12. content — happy
  13. land — to come down
  14. ground — crushed
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ground — a position
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. land — ground
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. content — videos and posts

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