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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: safe · trunk · club · bay · last · track · tear · cell

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. club — a group
  4. tear — from crying
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. last — final
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. last — to go on
  16. tear — to rip
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. last — finally
  22. track — a path
  23. tear — from crying
  24. track — a song

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