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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 124 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: wind · mouse · spring · kick · trunk · band · mate · plane

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wind — moving air
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. band — a music group
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. band — a ring
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spring — the season
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spring — of water
  21. kick — in football
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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