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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. net — in sport
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. clip — to cut
  5. net — after costs
  6. ball — a dance
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — for paper
  9. press — to push
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. date — the fruit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. game — a match
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. press — a publisher
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ball — a round shape

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