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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · trunk · scale · lean · fan · bark · spring · pop

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — ground
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. scale — in music
  8. spring — a coil
  9. land — a country
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lean — thin
  15. pop — soda
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — to come down
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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