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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wind — moving air
  6. object — a thing
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cap — a lid
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. press — newspapers
  20. object — to protest
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. press — to push
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. object — an aim

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