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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bound — tied together
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cue — a hint
  5. press — a publisher
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cell — a phone
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. club — a group
  11. cue — a signal
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cue — for pool
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cell — in biology
  19. row — a line
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bound — certain
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. club — for golf

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