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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. foot — a measure
  11. swing — music
  12. land — ground
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. press — to push
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. press — a publisher
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  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