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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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 an elephant
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. net — in sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. wind — moving air
  6. firm — a company
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. firm — steady
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. firm — decided
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — newspapers
  14. net — for catching
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  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