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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 · safe · trunk · last · bank · mine · swing · wind

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. last — finally
  2. swing — in golf
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bank — for money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — a video
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. last — to go on
  15. bank — for money
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bank — of a river
  20. swing — music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — final
  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