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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: spring · board · nail · pitcher · bark · firm · trunk · rash

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. firm — steady
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. spring — the season
  7. firm — decided
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — of water
  11. rash — a series
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rash — hasty
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bark — to shout
  18. firm — a company
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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