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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 120 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: clip · bound · temple · cell · stand · fine · wave · trunk

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fine — all right
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bound — tied together
  9. clip — a video
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bound — certain
  24. clip — to cut

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