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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. snap — to click
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. press — to push
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. press — newspapers
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bat — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mouse — the animal

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