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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. net — for catching
  4. press — to push
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bat — the animal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. net — after costs
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. net — in sport
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wound — an injury
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. press — newspapers

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