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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: club · last · tear · leaves · band · temple · craft · trunk

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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. leaves — lets stay
  2. last — final
  3. craft — boats
  4. club — for golf
  5. band — a ring
  6. last — to go on
  7. band — a music group
  8. club — a group
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. craft — a skill
  13. club — for dancing
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. craft — a handicraft
  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