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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. spring — of water
  3. press — a publisher
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — decided
  6. press — to push
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kick — in football
  10. clip — for paper
  11. firm — steady
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. press — newspapers
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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