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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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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: lie · spring · pound · last · trunk · clip · bank · chest

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. last — finally
  7. bank — for money
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — final
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bank — for money
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — to go on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — a video
  19. lie — to recline
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. chest — a box

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