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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. wake — a trail
  8. file — a tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. file — a line of people
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. press — to push
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bear — the animal
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. file — a document
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. press — newspapers

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