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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bank — for money
  5. band — a ring
  6. bank — for money
  7. clip — a video
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. court — for sport
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tear — to rip
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a music group
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — for paper
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — from crying

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