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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. press — newspapers
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. club — for golf
  8. snap — to click
  9. wind — moving air
  10. press — a publisher
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — a box
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cell — in biology
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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