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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — a video
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. craft — a skill
  12. march — the month
  13. press — newspapers
  14. craft — boats
  15. wind — moving air
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spring — the season
  24. press — a publisher

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