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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. mate — a friend
  4. band — a ring
  5. press — to push
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — for paper
  9. track — a song
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. press — a publisher
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — to cut
  23. band — a music group
  24. prune — to trim

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