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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. press — a publisher
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pit — in a race
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — the earth
  11. game — wild animals
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. game — a match
  21. ground — a position
  22. fall — to drop
  23. press — newspapers
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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