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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bass — low music
  3. rock — music
  4. bank — for money
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — a video
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bank — for money
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bank — of a river
  20. last — to go on
  21. spring — the season
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bass — the fish
  24. lie — an untruth

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