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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 120 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. prune — to trim
  4. perch — the fish
  5. press — to push
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. press — newspapers
  13. rash — hasty
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. chip — for betting
  17. rash — a series
  18. press — a publisher
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. prune — to trim

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