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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — a publisher
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. press — to push
  19. saw — the tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mine — for digging

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