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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. land — to come down
  3. press — a publisher
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. land — a country
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wake — a trail
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. hand — help
  22. land — ground
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — part of the 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