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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: trunk · bound · last · swing · rash · wind · root · court

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rash — a series
  3. court — of a king
  4. swing — to play on
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rash — hasty
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — of law
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bound — tied together
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bound — certain
  15. root — the cause
  16. swing — music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. root — of a word
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. last — finally
  22. court — for sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. last — final

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