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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: cold · bank · foot · lie · trunk · cell · mine · last

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bank — for money
  4. cold — an illness
  5. last — to go on
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cell — a phone
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bank — for money
  13. lie — to recline
  14. last — final
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. last — finally
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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