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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 120 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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. snap — to click
  5. press — a publisher
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. press — newspapers
  10. content — happy
  11. press — to push
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. season — in sport
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — videos and posts

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