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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 · trunk · tube · chip · wind · key · squash · degree

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — from a university
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. chip — for betting
  12. degree — an amount
  13. key — in music
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tube — a container
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chip — to eat
  22. key — for a lock
  23. degree — temperature
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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