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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. file — a line of people
  8. snap — to click
  9. march — music
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. press — newspapers
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. press — to push
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. file — a tool
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. file — a document
  24. march — the month

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