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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: trunk · cell · wind · press · game · rash · tube · spring

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rash — a series
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — of water
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. game — wild animals
  15. press — to push
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. game — a match
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spring — the season
  23. press — a publisher
  24. tube — a container

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