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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. press — newspapers
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rash — a series
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — to push
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. clip — to cut
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — a video
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — hasty

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