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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. press — newspapers
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cell — a phone
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. swing — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. swing — in golf
  13. band — a music group
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. press — a publisher
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. band — a ring
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. swing — to play on
  24. press — to push

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