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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. clip — for paper
  4. present — there
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — to cut
  13. press — newspapers
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — to grow
  19. present — a gift
  20. press — to push
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. press — a publisher
  24. present — the time now

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