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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 · court · bank · last · safe · clip · wound · rest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bank — of a river
  3. court — of a king
  4. clip — to cut
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. court — for sport
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — an injury
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. court — of law
  24. rest — a break

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