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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rule — a law
  3. press — a publisher
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rule — government
  6. shower — rain
  7. pop — music
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pass — a permit
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pop — soda
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. capital — money
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. capital — a city
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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