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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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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 · rest · leaves · last · clip · club · wave · pass

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. clip — a video
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. rest — a break
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. rest — what's left
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. club — a group
  24. last — finally

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