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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rash — hasty
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. clip — for paper
  12. press — newspapers
  13. shower — to wash
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rash — a series
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — a video
  18. wake — a trail
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. press — to push
  24. hide — animal skin

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