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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: pitcher · bear · march · spring · bound · ball · trunk · pound

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. spring — the season
  4. bound — certain
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bound — tied together
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — music
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bear — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. ball — a dance
  20. spring — of water
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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