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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.

Make a worksheet

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: clip · bound · last · spring · trunk · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. last — finally
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bound — tied together
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. last — to go on
  7. rest — a break
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. bound — certain
  11. spring — of water
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bound — obliged
  17. clip — to cut
  18. last — final

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