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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spell — magic
  5. season — in sport
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. press — to push
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. object — to protest
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. object — an aim
  17. chest — a box
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. press — newspapers
  21. season — of the year
  22. object — a thing
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chest — of your body

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