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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. race — the arms race
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mate — to breed
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. press — newspapers
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. press — a publisher
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — obliged
  20. degree — temperature
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. degree — an amount
  23. press — to push
  24. trunk — of a tree

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