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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. net — after costs
  11. cell — a phone
  12. press — a publisher
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. net — in sport
  16. press — to push
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. net — for catching
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bulb — for light

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