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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: bound · lie · last · cold · track · trunk · band · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. track — a path
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. track — a song
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bound — tied together
  13. band — a music group
  14. last — to go on
  15. bound — obliged
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — not warm
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a ring
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. lie — to recline
  24. leaves — of a tree

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