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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rest — a break
  5. fine — all right
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — temperature
  15. plane — a tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. press — a publisher
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. press — to push
  24. degree — from a university

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