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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 116 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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. branch — a division
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — part of the head
  8. spring — of water
  9. staff — a stick
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. press — a publisher
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. press — to push
  14. staff — employees
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wake — a trail
  23. face — to confront
  24. spring — the season

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